SCOTLAND

Christmas

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many Christmas trees were purchased by his Department in each of the last five years; what the cost was of those trees in each year; from where the trees were sourced; what account was taken of the sustainability of the sources of the trees; and by what process the trees were disposed of.

Ann McKechin: The Scotland Office do not set aside a specific budget for Christmas trees and the costs are not separately identifiable. All the trees came from sustainable sources and are recycled into green compost.

Christmas

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much his Department has budgeted for Christmas trees in 2009.

Ann McKechin: The Scotland Office do not set aside a specific budget for Christmas trees.

Departmental Buildings

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much his Department spent on works and refurbishment to offices allocated to Ministers in his Department's buildings in the last 12 months.

Ann McKechin: Under the terms of its building leases the Office is required to maintain its buildings to an acceptable standard of decoration and repair. The Scotland Office does not separately identify the costs of renovation and refurbishment from the routine repair and replacement of existing facilities. Over the period of the last 12 months, the expenditure on offices allocated to Ministers was £3,150.

Departmental Conferences

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which conferences held overseas have been attended by civil servants based in his Department in the last three years; and what the cost to the public purse was of such attendance at each conference.

Ann McKechin: No civil servants in the Scotland Office have attended conferences held overseas in the last three years.

Departmental Electronic Equipment

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many plasma screen televisions his Department has purchased since 2001; and what the cost has been of purchasing and installing such screens in each such year.

Ann McKechin: The Scotland Office has not purchased any plasma screen televisions.

Departmental Lost Property

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many  (a) laptop computers,  (b) desktop computers and  (c) memory sticks his Department has recorded as having been (i) lost and (ii) stolen (A) in total and (B) from its offices in Scotland in each of the last 10 years.

Ann McKechin: The Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999. Since this date one laptop used by a Scotland Office official was stolen in February 2000. The laptop did not contain any secure information. There are no recorded losses or thefts of memory sticks or desk top computers.

Departmental Sick Leave

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many days sickness absence were taken by staff in his Department in each of the last 12 months for which figures are available; and what the cost to his Department was of such absence.

Ann McKechin: All staff are on secondment from the Scottish Executive or the Ministry of Justice; who as parent Departments have absence management policies that apply to those of their staff working in this Office. We do not maintain a separate central record of sick absences. Such records are held by the parent Departments who publish their sick absence statistics.

Departmental Training

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many overseas training courses were attended by his Department's civil servants in the latest period for which figures are available; how many civil servants attended each course; and what the total cost to the public purse was of each course.

Ann McKechin: No overseas training courses have been attended by Scotland Office staff.

Departmental Training

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much his Department spent on away days in the last 12 months; and what the  (a) subject and  (b) location of each away day was.

Ann McKechin: The Scotland Office business planning away day in Edinburgh at a cost £2,660, was the only expenditure incurred in the last 12 months.

Departmental Written Questions

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many and what percentage of parliamentary questions tabled for written answer by his Department on a named day in session 2008-09 received a substantive answer on that day.

Ann McKechin: In session 2008-09, 32 named day parliamentary questions were tabled to the Scotland Office. 75 per cent. received a substantive answer on the named day.
	Central guidance on answering parliamentary questions is now available in the 'Guide to Parliamentary Work', at:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/parliamentary-clerk-guide.aspx
	In the response to the Procedure Committee Report on written parliamentary questions, the Government accept the Committee's recommendation that Departments be required to provide the Procedure Committee with sessional statistics in a standard format on the time taken to respond to written parliamentary questions, accompanied by an explanatory memorandum setting out any factors affecting their performance. This will be taken forward as soon as possible.

Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he last visited Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre on official business.

Jim Murphy: I have never visited Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre on official business in my capacity as Secretary of State for Scotland.

Excise Duties: Fuels

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will discuss with the Chancellor of the Exchequer the merits of reducing the rate of fuel duty levied in rural areas of Scotland.

Ann McKechin: My right hon. Friend and I have regular discussions with HM Treasury about a range of issues affecting Scotland. Decisions on fuel duty rates are a matter for the Chancellor, who takes into account a range of factors in setting them. Reducing the rate of fuel duty levied in rural areas of Scotland would represent a departure from the principle of uniform duty rates across the UK.

TRANSPORT

Civil Servants: Allowances

John Leech: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport when the business expenses incurred by senior civil servants in his Department will be published on his Department's website.

Chris Mole: Business expenses incurred by Department for Transport senior civil servants were published on our website on 9 December 2009:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/about/howthedftworks/costs/
	Additional information in the form of a departmental senior civil servant hospitality register will be published shortly, although a release date is currently to be confirmed.

Civil Servants: Pay

John Leech: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what the total basic pay bill was of members of the senior civil service within his Department in  (a) 2008 and  (b) 2009.

Chris Mole: The total basic pay bill for the senior civil service in the Department for Transport was £15,580,392 in 2008 and £16,686,383 in 2009.

Civil Servants: Pay

John Leech: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what the mean average percentage pay increase for members of the senior civil service in his Department was in 2009.

Chris Mole: The average percentage pay increase in 2009 for members of the senior civil service in the Department for Transport was 2.3 per cent.

Departmental Buildings

John Baron: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how much his Department spent on works and refurbishment to offices allocated to Ministers in his Department's buildings in the last 12 months.

Chris Mole: The Department for Transport spent £1,693.24 on works and refurbishment to Ministers' offices over the last 12 months. There was also some expenditure on general maintenance of the plant and equipment related to the location of the Ministers' offices but this was not separately identified from general building maintenance.

Departmental Electronic Equipment

Greg Hands: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many plasma screen televisions his Department has purchased since 2001; and what the cost has been of purchasing and installing such screens in each such year.

Chris Mole: The breakdown requested is not held centrally and to attempt to provide it now would incur disproportionate cost.

Departmental Freedom of Information

Sarah Teather: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 his Department received in 2008; and how many of these received a substantive response within 20 days.

Chris Mole: Statistics published by the Ministry of Justice on Freedom of Information in central Government for 2008 show that a total of 1,964 non-routine requests were received by the Department for Transport (based on aggregated quarterly data), 85 per cent. (1,679) received a substantive response within 20 days. 89 per cent. (1,751) of requests were dealt with 'in time', that is within 20 days by meeting the deadline or other permitted extension deadlines.
	The statistics can be found on the Ministry of Justice website at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/freedomofinformation quarterly.htm
	and copies are available in the Library of the House.

Departmental Internet

David Davies: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what redesigns of websites operated by  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies have taken place since 27 June 2007; and what the (i) cost to the public purse and (ii) date of completion of each such redesign was.

Chris Mole: Tables have been placed in the Libraries of the House showing a list of websites currently operated by the Department for Transport and its agencies who have undertaken a redesign since 27 June 2007; the cost of the redesign and subsequent date of completion. Costs provided are those incurred by external suppliers and do not include internal staff costs. To provide internal staff costs would incur disproportionate costs.

Departmental Internet

David Davies: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what redesigns of websites operated by the Office of Rail Regulation have taken place since 27 June 2007; and what the  (a) cost to the public purse and  (b) date of completion of each such redesign was.

Chris Mole: The independent Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) redesigned their intranet and website during 2007-08. The total cost for the redesign of both was £107,169, including consultancy fees, costs of external suppliers involved in the redesign and provision of specialist IT equipment to deliver the project. The updated intranet and website went live on 10 November 2008.

Departmental Mobile Phones

Grant Shapps: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how much his Department spent on  (a) purchases of and  (b) bills for use of (i) Blackberrys and (ii) other mobile telephones in (A) 2008-09 and (B) 2009-10.

Chris Mole: The information requested for the Department for Transport and its agencies is as follows:
	
		
			   DfT  (central)( 1)  DVLA( 2)  HA( 3)  DSA( 4)  MCA( 5)  VOSA( 6)  VCA( 7)  GCDA( 8) 
			 2008-09 Purchases and bills for Blackberrys- £32,400 and £47,300. Purchase of mobiles-£372. Purchases and bills-£117,104 for mobiles. Purchases were nil for Blackberrys. Bills for both were £212,035. Purchases and bills-£45,300 for mobiles and £1,620 for Blackberrys. Purchases £4,550 for mobiles, £96,400 for Blackberrys. Bills were £101,630 for mobiles and £32,400 for Blackberrys. Purchases were £2,520 for Blackberrys. Combined bills were £298,000. Purchase and bills for mobiles-£1,080 and £39,700. Mobile purchases-£175, bills-£43,100. 
			 2009-10 to date Purchases and bills for Blackberrys- £25,700 and £63,900. Purchase of mobiles-£2,000. Purchases and bills-£64,808 for mobiles. Purchases were £8,250 for Blackberrys. Bills for both are £116,877. Purchases and bills-£31,178 for mobiles and £835 for Blackberrys. Purchases were £2,500 for mobiles and nil for Blackberrys. Bills were £65,000 for mobiles and £46,400 for Blackberrys. Purchases of Blackberrys were nil. Combined bills are £167,200. Purchase and bills for mobiles-£510 and £26,200. Mobile purchases-£227, bills £18,790. 
			 (1) Purchase costs of mobiles only available from 1 October 2008 when purchase centralised. Mobile bills can be provided only at disproportionate cost due to decentralised accounting procedures. (2) DVLA does not currently buy Blackberrys. Separation of costs between purchases and bills can be provided only at disproportionate cost. (3) Bills figures cannot be separated between mobiles and Blackberrys. Mobile purchase costs are in bills and be separated only at disproportionate cost. 2008-09 figures only available from August to March. (4) Separation of costs between purchases and bills can be provided only at disproportionate cost. (5) Mobile figures include data only mobile costs. (6) Separation of bills between Blackberrys and mobiles can be provided only at disproportionate cost. (7) Blackberrys not used. (8) No spend on Blackberrys.

Departmental Pay

John McDonnell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what percentage pay increase the Chief Executive of each of his Department's agencies received in 2009.

Chris Mole: Information on the remuneration of individual Agency Chief Executives in the Department for Transport is included in their Agency's Annual Report and Accounts. Copies of these are available in the Libraries of the House.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how much his Department spent in Wales in each financial year since 1997; and what major projects in Wales received funding from his Department in each of those years.

Chris Mole: The Department for Transport publishes estimates of its Total Expenditure on Services per head by region and country in its Annual Report. These figures rest on a number of assumptions, for example about how total expenditure on strategic highways and rail should be attributed to different regions.
	These figures exclude grant to local authorities, as this information is collated separately by the Department for Communities and Local Government, Department for Children, Schools and Families and Department for Work and Pensions and devolved Administrations.
	The Total Expenditure on Services attributed to Wales by the Department since its formation in May 2002 is provided in the following table:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2002-03 165.8 
			 2003-04 138.6 
			 2004-05 172.8 
			 2005-06 161.4 
			 2006-07 138.4 
			 2007-08 136.0 
		
	
	Further details of total expenditure on Wales can be found in Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses (PESA) published by HM Treasury.
	Details of expenditure on individual major projects should be sought from the devolved Administration for Wales.

Departmental Rail Travel

Nick Hurd: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport with reference to the answer of 12 May 2009,  Official Report, column 645W, on departmental rail travel, if he will place in the Library a copy of the relevant section of his Department's staff handbook on claiming travel expenses.

Chris Mole: The section of the Department's Staff Handbook, and those of its agencies, relating to rail travel has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Departmental Scientists

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many  (a) scientific advisers and  (b) civil servants in scientific posts there are in his Department.

Chris Mole: The information requested in part  (a) is two: the Department for Transport has a chief and a deputy chief scientific adviser.
	The information requested in part  (b) is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, based on the latest data from the Government Science and Engineering (GSE) Network, which is on an 'opt in' basis, 39 respondents from this Department indicated that they had a science background, which is either essential or useful to their post.

Departmental Security

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many security passes his Department has issued to contractors providing consultancy services in the last 12 months.

Chris Mole: The Department for Transport includes seven agencies, a shared service centre and the central Department.
	The information requested on departmental passes issued to contractors providing consultancy services in the last 12 months is not held centrally on the Department's access control systems.
	Some information in records held locally by security liaison officers within the Department and its Agencies could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The Department's access control policies are in line with the HMG Security Policy Framework Mandatory Requirements 56, 57 and 58, and provide the appropriate security standards for controlling and monitoring access to the Government Estate. This includes enabling visitors, including non-staff employed by a Department, to enter facilities and go about their business safely and in a controlled way.

Departmental Travel

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport on what date he last travelled by  (a) bus and  (b) taxi in the course of his official duties.

Sadiq Khan: I last travelled by bus in the course of my official duties on 10 December 2009 and by taxi (a green car provided by the Government Car and Despatch Agency) on the 25 November 2009.

Hotels

Anne Main: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how much the Office of Rail Regulation has spent on hotel accommodation for its officials in each of the last five years.

Chris Mole: Spending on hotel accommodation for its officials at the independent Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) in each of the last five years is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Hotel accommodation 
			   (£) 
			   200- /09  2007-08( 1)  2006-07( 2)  2005-06  2004-05 
			 UK 98,885.47 106,337.53 104,522.15 3,938.80 7,794.43 
			 Overseas 19,122.48 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Total 118,007.95 106,337.53 104,522.15 3,938.80 7,794.43 
			 (1) Hotel accommodation spend was not split between UK and Overseas on ORR's financial ledger prior to 2008-09. (2) The merger of Her Majesty's Railway Inspectorate (HMRI) with ORR in 2006-07 explains the increase in spend between 2005-06 and 2006-07. In a typical year pre-merger HMRI spent approximately £90,000 on hotel accommodation.

Lorries: Licensing

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport for each year from 1997 to date, how many operating licences for road hauliers have been extant; and how many vehicles were registered under such licences in each year.

Paul Clark: The figures are contained in the Traffic Commissioners' Annual Report and are:
	
		
			   Licences  Vehicle 
			 1998-99 111,119 401,165 
			 1999-2000 110,067 397,193 
			 2000-01 105,455 392,299 
			 2001-02 105,218 409,836 
			 2002-03 102,828 410,653 
			 2003-04 102,946 407,456 
			 2004-05 101,857 396,203 
			 2005-06 99,889 368,200 
			 2006-07 99,794 371,522 
			 2007-08 98,469 381,109 
			 2008-09 95,436 362,706 
		
	
	Figures for 1997-98 are not available as they were recorded in a different format.

M6: Walsall

David Winnick: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport pursuant to the answer of 7 December 2009,  Official Report, column 37W, on the M6: Walsall, whether the Chief Executive of the Highways Agency plans to visit the managed motorway works on the M6 within Walsall borough before Christmas 2009.

Chris Mole: The chief executive of the Highways Agency is planning to visit the site of the Managed Motorway works on the M6 at Walsall before Christmas 2009. He wrote to my hon. Friend on 10 December to advise him of a date.

Piracy

Liam Fox: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what information his Department holds on the number of pirate attacks that have been recorded in each region of the world in each year since 2006.

Paul Clark: The number of ships that have reported piracy incidents to the International Maritime Bureau in each of the last four years are as follows:
	
		
			   Number of attacks  UK registered 
			 2006 239 3 
			 2007 263 3 
			 2008 293 6 
			 2009 380 3 
		
	
	In areas of significant pirate activity the numbers of attacks in each of the last four years are as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
			   Bangladesh  Indonesia  Malacca Straits  Nigeria  Gulf of Aden  Somalia 
			 2006 47 50 11 12 7 10 
			 2007 15 43 7 42 10 31 
			 2008 12 28 2 40 92 19 
			 2009 15 12 2 26 113 74

Public Transport: Public Expenditure

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how much direct Government funding has been allocated to public transport schemes in  (a) Merseyside,  (b) Manchester and  (c) West Yorkshire since 2006.

Sadiq Khan: The Department for Transport (DFT) allocates integrated transport block (IT Block) funding to local transport authorities for smaller transport schemes costing less than £5 million. This funding is not ring-fenced and local authorities have discretion to spend their allocations in line with their priorities, including public transport schemes. Local transport authorities can apply for additional funding for specific major projects. The Government also provide rural bus subsidy grant which helps local authorities to support rural bus services in England.
	The Department has provided the following funding for the support of public transport schemes in Merseyside, Manchester and West Yorkshire. The figures are £ millions.
	
		
			  (a) Merseyside 
			  £ million 
			   IT Block  Major schemes  Bus subsidy  Total 
			 2008-09 34.55 0 0.14 34.69 
			 2007-08 36.50 0 0.14 36.64 
			 2006-07 33.02 0 0.14 33.16 
		
	
	
		
			  (b) Manchester 
			  £ million 
			   IT Block  Major schemes  Bus subsidy  Total 
			 2008-09 45.71 95.60 0.32 141.63 
			 2007-08 46.38 40.10 0.31 86.79 
			 2006-07 39.91 13.60 0.30 53.81 
		
	
	
		
			  (c) West Yorkshire 
			  £ million 
			   IT Block  Major schemes  Bus subsidy  Total 
			 2008-09 29.45 0.50 1.10 31.05 
			 2007-08 27.96 0.70 1.07 29.73 
			 2006-07 28.49 6.30 1.04 35.83 
		
	
	In addition, the Government subsidise bus services in England through the Department's Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG). BSOG is paid directly to operators of local bus services and funding figures are unavailable by geographic region.
	Revenue expenditure on transport is generally supported through the Department for Communities and Local Government's formula grant.
	DFT funding for rail projects is not available on the basis of local authority boundaries.

Railway Stations: Repairs and Maintenance

Mark Hunter: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport 
	(1)  what assessment his Department has made of the proportion of financial support for station improvements identified for priority improvement by the Station Champions that will come from  (a) local authorities,  (b) industry and  (c) central Government;
	(2)  what assessment his Department has made of the proportion of financial support for station improvements at Stockport Railway Station which will come from  (a) local authorities,  (b) rail industry and  (c) central Government;
	(3)  whether station improvements on the 10 major interchange stations identified for priority improvement by the Station Champions would go ahead without financial support from local government and industry;
	(4)  what assessment his Department has made of the ability of  (a) local authorities and  (b) local industry to provide financial support for station improvements at railway stations as part of the new £50 million fund;
	(5)  by what date he expects to announce the amount of funding from the new £50 million fund to be distributed for station improvements at Stockport railway station.

Chris Mole: The Department for Transport has agreed with Network Rail that they will make up to £50 million available in the near future to tackle improvements at the 10 key stations, including Stockport, identified in the Station Champions' report as being in most need of improvement.
	We are challenging the industry and local government to raise part of the money required for each of these stations themselves to help us maximise the impact of the £50 million. At this stage it is not possible to anticipate the proportion of funding that will come from Network Rail, industry and local government either at Stockport or at any of the other priority stations. However, we are expecting third party funding to be a key feature of those schemes that are taken forward. We realise that seeking additional funding in the current economic climate may be difficult, but this is crucial in maximising the benefit of the schemes.
	We are keen for improvements at these stations to begin as soon as possible, and anticipate that the £50 million will be used as part of a rolling programme before 2014. Announcements will be made as improvement packages at individual stations are agreed.

Railways

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport for what reason the target of 25 new light rail schemes by 2010 was abandoned; and how many such schemes he is now progressing.

Sadiq Khan: holding answer 10 December 2009
	The 10 Year Plan published in July 2000 set out indicative figures for the number of light rail schemes that might be delivered by 2010. This was neither a target nor a commitment for the Government.
	Since 2000 the following schemes have been completed in England:
	
		
			  Scheme name  Date of opening 
			 Croydon Tramlink May 2000 
			 Manchester Metrolink-Extension to Eccles July 2000 
			 Tyne and Wear Metro Extension to Sunderland March 2002 
			 Nottingham Express Transit Line 1 March 2004 
			 Docklands Light Railway-Extension to London City airport December 2005 
			 Docklands Light Railway-Extension to Woolwich Arsenal January 2009 
		
	
	In addition, we have granted final funding approval to extend the Manchester Metrolink to Oldham, Rochdale and Chorlton and a scheme to refurbish the Blackpool and Fleetwood tram system. These schemes are currently under construction.
	We also announced in July 2009, Conditional Approval for two extensions for the Nottingham Express Transit which are currently in procurement.
	The Department is currently considering further proposals to extend the Manchester Metrolink system to East Didsbury and Ashton; an extension of Midland Metro Line One in Birmingham to the city centre and a proposal to fund a capital renewal programme on the Tyne and Wear Metro system.

Road Traffic Control

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the effect on traffic volume of the introduction of speed bumps in residential roads of less than 200 metres in length.

Sadiq Khan: The Department for Transport has commissioned various research projects into the effectiveness of road humps. These considered the effect on traffic flow but did not include the length of the road as a factor. While results for the different types of hump varied, the research found an average flow reduction of 20 per cent. can be expected through the traffic calmed area after the installation of road humps.

Roads: Accidents

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport 
	(1)  how many accidents involving vehicles in the other motor vehicle category have been recorded by his Department in each of the last five years;
	(2)  pursuant to the answer of 26 November 2009,  Official Report, column 264W, on "Invalid Vehicles: Accidents", which types of vehicle his Department includes in the other motor vehicle category.

Paul Clark: The number of reported personal injury road accidents involving vehicles in the "other motor vehicles" category in each of the last five years is shown in the table:
	
		
			  Reported personal injury road accidents involving 'other motor vehicles': Great Britain, 2004-08 
			   Number 
			 2004 3,788 
			 2005 2,078 
			 2006 1,970 
			 2007 2,971 
			 2008 3,238 
		
	
	Other motor vehicles are types of motor vehicle that do not fall into any of the main categories recorded by the police. Examples include ambulances, fire engines, motor caravans, motorised wheel chairs and quad bikes. Details of what vehicles are included in the main categories, together with further examples of other motor vehicles, can be found on pages 44 and 45 of the 'Instructions for the Completion of Road Accident Reports', which is on the Department's website at the following link:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/statistics/datatablespublications/accidents/casualtiesgbar/s20instructionsforthecom5094.pdf

Roads: Construction

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many new  (a) bypasses and  (b) major local road schemes he plans to construct by 2015.

Sadiq Khan: holding answer 10 December 2009
	62 bypasses (on both the strategic highway and local road network) and 39 local major road schemes (costing over £5 million) have been completed since 2000. A further four bypass and 14 local major road schemes are currently under construction in England.
	Regions in England have allocated funding within their Regional Funding Allocations programme for approximately 14 bypasses and 57 local major road schemes to be taken forward to construction by 2015.
	A scheme's inclusion within the Regional Funding Allocation programme does not necessarily mean the funding has been approved. Schemes will only proceed once they have successfully completed the Department's funding approval processes and secured any necessary legal powers.

Speed Limits: Cameras

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many speed cameras were deployed in each local authority area in Wales in each year since 1997; and how much revenue there was from fines in each area in each such year.

Paul Clark: The Department for Transport only holds information about the number of speed camera sites operating within the National Safety Camera Programme which started in 2001 and ended on 31 March 2007. Separate information for each local authority in Wales is not held. The number of camera sites operating each year in Wales from 2001 to 2007 is outlined in Table 1. Details of fine revenue collected is outlined in Table 2.
	
		
			  Table 1: Fixed and mobile speed camera sites in Wales by partnership area and year 
			   2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Mid and South Wales 74 266 327 353 354 355 355 
			 North Wales 27 28 66 72 73 73 73 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Speed and red light revenue from fixed penalty notices paid in Wales by financial year and partnership area 
			  £ 
			   2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Mid and South Wales (1)26,117 1,876,260 7,264,560 7,281,180 6,553,440 6,060,840 5,881,860 
			 North Wales - 648,780 2,609,040 3,374,820 3,029,700 3,962,280 3,323,940 
			 (1) This figure refers to the number of fixed penalty tickets issued and paid. From 1 April to 31 October 2000 the fixed penalty was £40.00, this was increased to £60.00 on 1 November 2000.

Transport: Planning

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport if he will make it his policy to ensure that any planning application for a major transport matter will continue to be subject to the public inquiry system that has hitherto operated until such time as the relevant national planning statement has been agreed by Parliament.

Sadiq Khan: The Government intend that the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) established under the Planning Act 2008 will deal with applications for nationally significant transport projects, as defined by that Act, with effect from 1 March 2010, with the aim of delivering decisions in a more timely, efficient and predictable way. As part of the process of examining such applications, the IPC will consider evidence from interested parties and will where it considers appropriate hold open hearings at which oral evidence can be given. Until the relevant National Policy Statement has been designated, the final decisions on such applications will be taken by the relevant Secretary of State, on the basis of the IPC's recommendation.

Underground Railways: Tyne and Wear

John McDonnell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport whether his agreement is required before the Tyne and Wear Metro concession is awarded.

Sadiq Khan: Nexus, the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive, as the procuring authority, do not require the agreement of the Secretary of State to award a contract for the concession for the operation of the Tyne and Wear Metro. Nexus are, however, seeking the Department's commitment to provide funding support towards the operating costs of the Metro before they award such a contract.

OLYMPICS

Departmental Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what payments the Olympic Delivery Authority has made to Mandate/AS Biss in the last 12 months; for what purpose; and if she will place in the Library a copy of the contract under which such payments have been made.

Tessa Jowell: The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) has a programme of active engagement across central, regional, devolved, and local government.
	To assist this process it has used the services of Mandate Communications, jointly with the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), to provide research, administrative and event management support. This contract was competitively tendered. Over the last 12 months the ODA spend with Mandate was £51,634.82 excluding VAT.
	It is not possible to provide a copy of the contract as it is a joint contract with LOCOG, which is a private company.

Departmental Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Minister for the Olympics with reference to the answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Welwyn Hatfield of 3 February 2009,  Official Report, column 976W, on departmental public relations, which public relations consultancy was hired; for what purpose; and what consideration was given to undertaking the activity using Government press officers.

Tessa Jowell: Fleishman-Hillard Group Limited were procured to provide a consultancy service, which included research and communications advice.
	Government Press Officers were not considered for this role as the service required did not involve media work and was therefore outside press officers expertise.

Olympic Games 2012

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Minister for the Olympics who is responsible for the planning of sports events in the Olympic Park after the London 2012 Olympics.

Tessa Jowell: The Olympic Park Legacy Company is responsible for developing and implementing plans for the use and regeneration of the Olympic Park site after the Games. This work will include planning for sporting events in the Park in the post-games period.

Olympic Games 2012: River Thames

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Minister for the Olympics if she will make an assessment of the economic effects on businesses of the closure of sections of the River Thames for the duration of the rowing events at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Tessa Jowell: No decision has been made to close any section of the River Thames for the duration of the rowing events at Dorney Lake, Windsor during either the Olympic Games or the Paralympic Games in 2012.
	The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) is responsible for staging the event and is keen to keep the river open. Should it become necessary to close any part of the river, all interested parties will be consulted and economic effects evaluated.

WALES

Chief Information Officer

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales on what pay band his Department's chief information officer (CIO) is employed; whether the CIO is employed on a fixed-term or permanent contract; and what the size is of the budget for which the CIO is responsible in the period 2009-10.

Peter Hain: As the Wales Office obtains its IT services through the Ministry of Justice, my Department does not have a chief information officer.

Christmas

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many Christmas trees were purchased by his Department in each of the last five years; what the cost was of those trees in each year; from where the trees were sourced; what account was taken of the sustainability of the sources of the trees; and by what process the trees were disposed of.

Peter Hain: My Department has purchased two Christmas trees each year since December 2007, prior to this we were gifted two trees each year from Wales Forestry Commission.
	In 2007-08 and 2008-09 we purchased Christmas trees through the Ministry of Justice, from a sustainable source, at a cost of £120 and £210 respectively.
	In December this year we purchased our trees from a sustainable source in South Wales for £300.
	Since 2006-07 all trees have been disposed of through our recycling contract.

Christmas

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much his Department has budgeted for Christmas trees in 2009.

Peter Hain: As a small Department with only two offices we do not budget separately for Christmas trees. Their expenditure is included with the general office supplies.

Departmental Buildings

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much his Department spent on works and refurbishment to offices allocated to Ministers in his Department's buildings in the last 12 months.

Peter Hain: Nil.

Departmental Conferences

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales which conferences held overseas have been attended by civil servants based in his Department in the last three years; and what the cost to the public purse was of such attendance at each conference.

Peter Hain: In the last three years, civil servants in my Department have only attended one overseas ministerial conference, for e-Inclusion, in November 2008. The cost to the public purse was £275.90.

Departmental Electronic Equipment

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many plasma screen televisions his Department has purchased since 2001; and what the cost has been of purchasing and installing such screens in each such year.

Peter Hain: None.

Departmental Internet

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what redesigns of websites operated by  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies have taken place since 27 June 2007; and what the (i) cost to the public purse and (ii) date of completion of each such redesign was.

Peter Hain: The Wales Office redesigned its website in February 2008 at a cost of £10,500.

Departmental Official Hospitality

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much his Department spent on  (a) alcohol and  (b) entertainment in the last 12 months.

Peter Hain: In the past 12 months my Department has spent £308.86 on alcohol and £1,851 on entertainment. The costs for the alcohol and the majority of the entertainment were for hosting two ministerial receptions. The additional entertainment expenditure was for hosting a tea party for Latch, a Welsh children's cancer charity.

Departmental Publicity

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much his Department has spent on  (a) Ministerial photoshoots and  (b) production of videos in which Ministers appear in the last three years for which figures are available.

Peter Hain: In the last three years my Department has spent the following on:
	 (a) Ministerial photo shoots :
	2006-07-£0
	2007-08-£1,133.88
	2008-09-£546.25
	 (b) Production of videos in which Ministers appear :
	£0

Departmental Training

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much his Department has spent on away days in the last 12 months; and what the  (a) subject and  (b) location of each away day was.

Peter Hain: In the last 12 months my Department has spent £597 on an away day for policy branch to plan for the year ahead. The away day was held in Cardiff.

Hotels

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much his Department spent on hotel accommodation for  (a) Ministers,  (b) special advisers and  (c) civil servants in each of the last five years.

Peter Hain: The Wales Office does not keep records in this form, and the information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Out of Area Treatment

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many patients resident in England have received medical  (a) treatment and  (b) consultation in Wales in each year since 1997.

Peter Hain: The following figures represent the published total number of all non-Welsh residents admitted for treatment in Welsh trusts for the periods 1999-2000 to 2008-09 but exclude out-patients. Reliable data prior to 1999 are not available. It is not currently possible to provide information on non-Welsh residents treated as out-patients at Welsh trusts. In the time available it has not proved possible to separate out the number of English residents treated as in-patients at Welsh Trusts but I will write to the hon. Member with this information as soon it is available and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
	
		
			  Period  Number of patients 
			 1999-2000 9,890 
			 2000-01 9,829 
			 2001-02 10,689 
			 2002-03 10,491 
			 2003-04 10,539 
			 2004-05 10,340 
			 2005-06 12,671 
			 2006-07 12,671 
			 2007-08 12,537 
			 2008-09 11,468 
		
	
	The information is drawn from tables available at
	http://www.infoandstats.wales.nhs.uk/home.cfm?orgid=869
	Due to a change in the procedures for recording the information figures from 2005 onwards include day-case patients that may have been excluded from statistics in earlier years.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Birds: East of England

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will publish the report commissioned from the Farm and Wildlife Advisory Group by Natural England into the effect of the proposal to re-introduce sea eagles to East Anglia.

Huw Irranca-Davies: There are no plans to publish the Suffolk Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG) report in isolation, but the proposed management package will be made publicly available, as part of the consultation that will be undertaken before any decision to proceed with the reintroduction is made. The consultation is planned to occur before March 2010. Although the development of the management options is not yet complete, Natural England will make available a copy of the, as yet unfinished, FWAG report to interested parties on request, and I will ensure the hon. Member receives a copy.

Commission for Rural Communities: Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what public relations companies the Commission for Rural Communities has hired in the last three years; at what cost; for what purposes; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the contract between the Commission and each such company.

Dan Norris: The following figures set out the Commission for Rural Communities' (CRC) spend on public relations companies over the last three years, 1 April 2007 to 31 October 2009.
	
		
			   Total (£) 
			 2007-08 1,697.58 
			 2008-09 45,935.65 
			 2009-10 26,938.44 
			 Grand total 74,571.67 
		
	
	CRC has contracted with the following bodies:
	Pam Beddard PR (south west)
	Navigator PR (north east, north west and Yorkshire and the Humber)
	Kendalls (east of England)
	Aura PR (east Midlands)
	Rhian French Communications (south east)
	Danks Cockburn Public Relations (west Midlands)
	The increase in 2008-09 was largely due to the preparation and publication during that year of the CRC's "State of the Countryside" report. The CRC has used public relations companies to support activities relating to the gathering of evidence and the launching and dissemination of reports, research and guidance, particularly at a regional level.
	Due to commercial sensitivity and constraints CRC will not be placing copies of the contracts in the Library.

Commission for Rural Communities: Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what public affairs companies the Commission for Rural Communities has engaged in the last three years; at what cost and for what purposes; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the contracts under which such payments were made.

Dan Norris: The Commission for Rural Communities (CRC) contracted one public affairs company, Connect Public Affairs, to provide events management and communications support in respect of the CRC's activities at the 2007 and 2008 party conferences. The cost was as follows:
	
		
			   Total (£) 
			 2007-08 11,889.88 
			 2008-09 25,329.83 
			 2009-10 0 
			 Grand total 37,219.71 
		
	
	Due to commercial sensitivity and constraints CRC will not be placing these contracts in the Library.

Common Land: Property Development

Tom Levitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what changes he plans to propose to guidelines on town and village greens to prevent their application to land which already has planning permission for development.

Huw Irranca-Davies: DEFRA recently received the final report of research into the registration of new town or village greens: "Study of registered town and village greens and the attitudes towards applications". A summary of the research, together with the final report, is available on the DEFRA website.
	The findings of the research, as well as feedback from local authorities and others, lead me to conclude that there is sufficient evidence to justify a review of the existing system, with a view to exploring possible changes. Therefore, DEFRA plans to consult in spring 2010 on whether there is a need for reform of the registration system, and the options for reform that exist.

Departmental ICT

Robert Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the rules of his Department and its agencies are on the use of work computers for personal communication.

Dan Norris: Personal computers, email and other DEFRA IT facilities are provided primarily for work related purposes. A reasonable level of personal use of the work email account is permitted providing that:
	the sending or receipt of personal email messages does not interfere with work commitments;
	the email messages do not constitute any misuse of email, e.g. downloading or forwarding chain mail, or material of a pornographic, sexist, racist or derogatory nature;
	staff do not use the departmental email system for any kind of private business or to raise money for themselves or anyone else. To use email in connection with fund-raising activities for a recognised charity, staff must first consult about the propriety aspects;
	the email messages could not adversely affect DEFRA's reputation.
	DEFRA agencies have similar rules in place for the use of work computers for personal communication.

Departmental Pay

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was claimed in reimbursable expenses by press officers in his Department in each of the last three financial years.

Dan Norris: During the 2009-10 financial year (from April to November 2009), £11,703.61 was claimed in reimbursable expenses by press officers within the Department. This figure includes all cash reimbursed expenses and those claimed on corporate credit cards for travel and subsistence. It would incur disproportionate cost to identify other minor expenses on corporate credit cards.
	We are unable to provide figures for 2006-08 due to disproportionate costs.

Departmental Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what payments the National Forest has made to Cavendish Communications and Cavendish Public Affairs in the last 12 months; for what purposes; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the contract under which such payments were made.

Huw Irranca-Davies: In the last 12 months the National Forest Company has made payments amounting to £16,997.80 to Cavendish Place Communications for advice on communication with cross-parliamentary audiences, necessary for the delivery of the National Forest Delivery Plan 2009-14. There is no contract in place with Cavendish Public Affairs.
	Due to commercial sensitivity and constraints, the National Forest Company will not be placing copies of contracts in the Library.

Departmental Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what payments the Waste and Resources Action Programme has made to Fishburn Hedges in the last 12 months; for what purpose; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the contract under which such payments were made.

Dan Norris: Following a competitive tender, the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) contracted Fishburn Hedges to develop and deliver communications support across five separate areas of work. This has included three highly successful nationwide consumer campaigns:
	Recycle Now, which has delivered a step change in recycling by UK households resulting in more than two thirds of households recycling as a way of life.
	Love Food Hate Waste, which has highlighted the problem of food waste and helped cut around 160,000 tonnes of food waste, and saved consumers more than £400 million a year, preventing 725,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases being emitted.
	Home Composting Campaign, which has contributed to selling over two million compost bins in England and Scotland which are estimated to divert over 260,000 tonnes of organic waste each year.
	In addition, Fishburn Hedges provided support to pilot campaigns in 12 local authority areas to encourage the recycling of small waste electrical products, funded by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, as well as helping a WRAP programme promoting recycling to schools and their pupils.
	All the communications material generated for these campaigns is made freely available to local authorities, allowing them to reduce their costs.
	WRAP also used Fishburn Hedges to advise on how to raise awareness among senior local authority officers and elected members of the support on waste prevention and recycling services it offers.
	In the last 12 months (from 9 December 2008 to 8 December 2009) Fishburn Hedges was paid a total of £959,000 for this work.
	Fishburn Hedges was contracted by WRAP. The terms of the contract are subject to commercial confidentiality.

Departmental Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what payments British Waterways has made to  (a) Four Communications,  (b) Cavendish Communications and  (c) Atherton Associates in the last 12 months; for what purposes; and if he will place in the Library a copy of each contract under which such payments were made.

Huw Irranca-Davies: British Waterways has advised that payments made in the 12 months since 1 November 2008 (excluding VAT) to Four Communications, Cavendish Place Communications and Atherton Associates are as follows:
	 (a) Four Communications-£39,805.53 for public affairs support for British Waterways London. The contract was not renewed.
	 (b) Cavendish Place Communication-£61,627.57 for public affairs support. This is a rolling contract.
	 (c) Atherton Associates-None.
	Due to commercial sensitivity and constraints, British Waterways will not be placing copies of contracts in the Library.

Departmental Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what payments the Commission for Rural Communities has made to Connect Public Affairs in the last 12 months; for what purposes; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the contract under which such payments were made.

Dan Norris: DEFRA sponsors the Commission for Rural Communities (CRC)-a non-departmental public body which acts as an independent rural adviser, advocate and watchdog, with a particular focus on social disadvantage and economic underperformance. The CRC is tasked to advise and challenge the Government and delivery bodies at all levels to improve performance and embed best practice. The functions of the CRC are specified in the Natural Environment and Rural Communities (NERC) Act 2006.
	During the last 12 months, the CRC has paid Connect Public Affairs £25,329.83 for events management and communications support relating to the CRC's activities in raising awareness of the needs of rural people, in line with the NERC Act, at all three major 2008 party conferences. The CRC adhered to Cabinet Office "NDPBs: Attendance at Party Conferences" guidance in relation to these events. No contracts have been entered into and no payments made during the current financial year.
	Due to commercial sensitivity and constraints, I am unable to place a copy of the contract between the CRC and Connect Public Affairs in the Library.

Flood Control

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what decisions have been made on amending emergency regulations to increase the minimum amount of water to be provided in an emergency in accordance with recommendation 40 of the Pitt Report.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Sir Michael Pitt's report on learning the lessons from the 2007 floods included the recommendation that DEFRA should amend emergency regulations to increase the minimum amount of water to be provided in an emergency, in order to reflect reasonable needs during a longer-term loss of mains supply.
	The Government's response, published on 17 December, supported changes in response to this, and supported all Sir Michael's recommendations.
	Discussions have taken place with the water sector, the Drinking Water Inspectorate, the Health Protection Agency, the Consumer Council for Water, Ofwat and the Welsh Assembly Government. We expect to provide updated guidance to water companies on the minimum amount of water to be provided in an emergency before the new year.

Flood Control

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent estimate he has made of the number of homes at risk of  (a) coastal and  (b) inland flooding in each region.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The following table shows the number of homes at risk of river and tidal flooding in each Environment Agency region.
	
		
			   Residential 
			  EA Water Management region  Tidal  River  Both  Total 
			 Anglian 179 109 9 297 
			 Midlands 22 175 5 201 
			 North East 148 111 5 264 
			 North West 41 127 2 169 
			 South West 50 64 27 140 
			 Southern 113 38 5 156 
			 Thames 299 187 5 492 
			 Wales 54 81 24 158 
			 Total 906 892 81 1,879 
			  Note: Figures are shown in thousands of properties. 
		
	
	The Environment Agency's 'Flooding in England' report published in June 2009 estimated that, in addition to the above, a further 2.8 million homes and businesses in England are at risk of surface water flooding. This was an estimate to assess the scale of the risk and was not broken down by region.

Fly Tipping: Bexley

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of incidents of fly-tipping in the London Borough of Bexley in each of the last three years.

Dan Norris: The number of incidents of fly-tipping cleared by local authorities is reported each year to DEFRA's Flycapture database and published on DEFRA's website.
	The number of incidents of fly-tipping on public land reported as having been dealt with by the London borough of Bexley in each of the last three years is shown in the following table. There is currently no estimate of the number of fly-tipping incidents occurring on private land as these are the responsibility of the landowner to clear.
	
		
			   Total number of incidents 
			 2008-09 1,185 
			 2007-08 1,086 
			 2006-07 581

Food Supply

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much funding his Department allocated to research on food sustainability in each year since 2001; and how much such funding it has allocated in 2009 to date.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Between 2001 and 2009, DEFRA has invested in a wide range of research activities associated with food sustainability (including animal health and welfare). Total spend (in millions) allocated since 2001 is shown in the following table. The table also shows the funding of related food and farming R and D by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council where figures are available.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   DEFRA R and D spend on food sustainability( 1)  BBSRC funding for related food and farming R and D 
			 2001-02 82 - 
			 2002-03 81 132 
			 2003-04 75 129 
			 2004-05 79 138 
			 2005-06 78 150 
			 2006-07 74 171 
			 2007-08 70 185 
			 2008-09 65 189 
			 2009-10 (provisional) 65 - 
			 Total of main sponsors for farming and food 669 1,094 
			 (1) These figures are taken from the DEFRA Science Information System database.

Forests: Disease Control

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent steps he has taken to reduce the spread of pests and diseases of woodland trees.

Dan Norris: holding answer 10 December 2009
	 The Forestry Commission, through its Forest Research Agency, is carrying out research into a number of pests and diseases of trees including, more recently, increased investigation into Acute Oak Decline. It is also continuing collaborative research into a better understanding of the diseases caused by Phytophthora ramorum and P. kernoviae as part of the five-year programme announced by my right hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool, Wavertree (Jane Kennedy) on 3 March 2009.
	The Forestry Commission has also recently set up a Biosecurity Programme Board with representation from key partners in the forest industry sector. The board will advise the Forestry Commissioners on how best to deliver a programme of protecting trees and woodlands against pests and diseases. This will be set out in a new Plant Health Strategy the Commission is helping to develop which it intends to publish in 2010.

Hydrofluorocarbons

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the amount of hydrofluorocarbon emissions which would be saved by  (a) reducing the use of hydrofluorocarbons through reducing leakage and improving energy efficiency and  (b) the introduction of a widespread ban; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The impact assessment (IA) for the Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases Regulations 2009 published in February, considered the impacts of the action taken to regulate hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) through the EC F Gas Regulation and 10 associated Commission Regulations. The principal objective of these measures is to contain, prevent and thereby reduce emissions of HFCs. The IA considered both the "direct" savings relating to reductions in HFC emissions and also the "indirect" savings resulting from reduced energy consumption. A copy of the IA is available on the DEFRA website at:
	www.defra.gov.uk/environment/quality/air/fgas/documents/impact-assessment.pdf
	The introduction of a widespread ban on HFC use would lead to significant global reductions in HFC emissions that would otherwise not occur. However, the timing and scale of reductions would depend on how such a ban was implemented.

Hydrofluorocarbons: Government Departments

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment he has made of progress by departments in reducing the use of hydrofluorocarbons on their estate; and if he will make a statement.

Dan Norris: The Government's view is that the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) with high global warming potential is not sustainable in the long term. The Government's "Buy Sustainable: Quick Wins" procurement standards state that HFCs should only be used where other safe, technically feasible, cost-effective and more environmentally acceptable alternatives do not exist. All central Government Departments are required to comply with these procurement standards. Support for delivery and compliance with "Quick Wins" by central Government Departments is overseen by the Centre of Expertise in Sustainable Procurement in the Office of Government Commerce.
	Data are not collected centrally on HFC use or emissions but the Government are currently reviewing the targets for the sustainable operations on the Government estate, and are considering expanding the scope of the climate change targets to include the six key greenhouse gases, including HFCs, in departmental carbon budget allocations for estate and operations from 2012 onwards.

Metals: Waste Disposal

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will bring forward proposals to extend the end of waste criteria for the purposes of including recycled metal.

Dan Norris: The point at which scrap metal is recycled and ceases to be waste has been set by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in cases C-444/00 (Mayer Parry) and C-457/02 (Niselli). The practical effect of these judgments is that scrap metal does not cease to be waste until it is reprocessed into products such as ingots, sheets or coils of steel. It is not legally feasible for DEFRA to adopt criteria which purport to set the end-of-waste point for scrap metal at a point earlier than that set by the ECJ. However, the European Commission has announced its intention to bring forward EU-wide end-of-waste criteria for ferrous, aluminium and copper scrap metal using the powers available to the Commission under article 6 of the revised Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC). UK officials have participated in the working groups established by the Commission to develop the technical aspects of proposals for ferrous and aluminium scrap.

Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will list all guidance issued to Natural England under section 16 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006, giving the date when each was published.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Section 16 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 gives the Secretary of State power to give directions to Natural England. No directions have been issued to Natural England under this section of the Act.

Organic Farming

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much has been paid to farmers migrants under the Organic Farming Scheme since 2003.

Jim Fitzpatrick: We do not hold information as to whether any payments made under the organic farming scheme were made to migrant farmers.

Origin Marking: Israel

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for what reason guidance to retailers on the voluntary labelling of products from Israeli settlements in the West Bank no longer appears on his Department's website.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The earlier guidance on labelling goods from the West Bank was felt to be in need of revision because it did not offer assistance in the specific matter of distinguishing those goods which were of Israeli settlement origin from those which were from Palestinian producers. As I explained in the debate on 2 December 2009,  Official Report, column 106WH, the Government hope to be able to make an announcement shortly on this matter.

Origin Marking: Israel

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the contribution of the Minister of State of 2 December 2009,  Official Report, column 106WH, if he will make it his policy to include in the guidance on the voluntary labelling of produce imported from Golan the description "Made in Occupied Syrian Land".

Jim Fitzpatrick: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs tabled a written ministerial statement on 10 December 2009 concerning technical advice on the labelling of produce from the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). That advice has been issued in response to consumer and retailer concern about a lack of clarity on whether such produce comes from Israeli settlements or Palestinian producers. The situation in Israeli occupied Golan is quite different: we are not aware that there is such confusion between different producers, and we have not received representations from consumers or retailers. Therefore, the Government have not addressed the issue of produce imported from the Israeli occupied Golan in the technical advice to which I have referred.

Origin Marking: Israel

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress his Department has made on developing guidance on the labelling of food products sold in England which are produced in Israeli settlements in the West Bank; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 10 December 2009
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs tabled a written ministerial statement on 10 December 2009 concerning technical advice on the labelling of produce from the occupied Palestinian territories. That advice has been issued in response to consumer and retailer concern about a lack of clarity on whether such produce comes from Israeli settlements or Palestinian producers.

Rural Development Programme

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was spent by Natural England on administering the Regional Development Programme for England (RDPE) on behalf of his Department in the last 12 months; and whether any of the costs within Natural England's Annual report are attributable to the RDPE.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Natural England was allocated £13,600,000 in 2008-09 to cover its direct costs associated with delivering the Rural Development Programme for England under the common agricultural policy. In addition to this, £22,400,000 was allocated to Natural England to cover the costs of DEFRA's Genesis IT system which is the IT system to manage and administer the Rural Development Programme for England. This running cost includes depreciation, cost of capital and third party support.
	These costs are all given in Natural England's annual report.

Rural Development Programme

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much matched funding and other Treasury funding has been committed to the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE); and what the  (a) consequences to date and  (b) estimated consequences are of the change in the exchange rate of the euro to sterling on (i) amount of sterling to be funded from UK sources and (ii) the total amounts available for each Axis 1, 2 and 3 of the RDPE.

Dan Norris: The total planned budget for the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) 2007-13, as announced on 29 March 2007, is £3.9 billion.
	A higher than planned euro value has contributed to an underspend of the European budget allocated to the programme to date. Under EU regulations, unspent European budget may be rolled forward to be spent in later years and therefore remains as part of the total programme budget. For the remainder of the programme we plan to take advantage of the higher sterling value of the EU budget to contribute to savings in the Exchequer funded element. This will contribute to achieving the saving of £92 million in 2012-13 announced in the pre-Budget report(1) to be delivered from efficiencies in Environmental Protection and RDPE. This saving can be achieved within the total of £3.9 billion planned for the programme.
	(1) http://prebudget.treasury.gov.uk/about_pbr.htm
	(paragraph 6.45)

Scientists

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on how many occasions he has met  (a) the Government chief scientific adviser and  (b) his Department's chief scientific adviser in the course of his official duties in the last 12 months.

Dan Norris: holding answer 7 December 2009
	 The Secretary of State has had no formal meeting with the Government's chief scientific adviser in the past 12 months, but has had the opportunity to meet him at various committees and events they have both attended. The Secretary of State meets DEFRA's chief scientific adviser regularly.

Waste and Resources Action Programme: Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman) of 13 July 2009,  Official Report, column 15W, on Waste and Resources Action Programme, if he will undertake an investigation into the appropriateness of the Waste and Resources Action Programme hiring Chelgate public affairs to lobby hon. Members and noble Lords.

Dan Norris: Chelgate was contracted by WRAP for a period of six months to organise a series of meetings with parliamentarians from all three major parties, where WRAP explained its role and functions. No lobbying took place at any time.

Waste Disposal: EU Law

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations he has received on the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2009; for what reasons he does not plan to review the regulations before 2013; and if he will make a statement.

Dan Norris: We received extensive responses to two public consultations on the review of exemptions, the second being on the draft Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations 2009, which is due to come into force on 6 April 2010 but will not, subject to transitional provisions, be fully implemented until October 2013.
	We are committed to introducing a system to regularly review and amend exempt waste operations in the future. We have suggested that the first review should be conducted in 2013, to coincide with the end of the transitional period for existing operations to have re-registered or applied for an environmental permit.
	This will provide the opportunity to draw on operational experience to assess how well the revised exemptions are working. However, DEFRA would consider specific amendments to the exemptions if it becomes necessary to do so.
	We are currently consulting publicly on draft Government guidance to accompany the Regulations. Chapter 14 of the draft guidance sets out proposed criteria and considerations for future reviews.

Waste Disposal: EU Law

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what methodology his Department used to estimate the costs for policy option three as referred to in the Explanatory Memorandum to the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2009.

Dan Norris: An explanation of the methodology used to estimate the costs for policy option three is provided in chapters six and seven of the impact assessment which accompanies the Explanatory Memorandum to the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2009.
	These chapters explain the risk based approach adopted during the development of the revised exemptions and give an overview of the types of administrative and direct costs incurred under each option.

Waste Disposal: EU Law

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of metals recycling businesses which will experience a net financial  (a) benefit and  (b) cost as a result of implementation of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2009.

Dan Norris: Based on the available information, we believe that around half of the metal recycling operations (c460) operating under the current chargeable paragraph 45 exemption from environmental permitting would continue to do so if the proposed tonnages applied.
	Under the revised regime those operations which remain exempt or could register for an exemption for the first time would no longer be subject to either the initial registration fee (currently £724) or annual re-renewal fee of £272. The remainder will incur additional costs associated with applying for an environmental permit which are likely to exceed the current registration fee.

Waste Disposal: EU Law

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he plans to issue guidance on individual exemptions that arise as a result of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2009.

Dan Norris: DEFRA is currently consulting on guidance to accompany the amendments being made by the 2009 regulations and is expecting to publish a final version in early 2010.

Water: EU Law

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of rivers he expects to meet the criteria for the classification of good ecological status under the European water framework directive by 2015.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The proportion of rivers expected to meet the criteria for the classification of good ecological status under the European water framework directive in England by 2015 is 29 per cent. This is as a result of measures implemented through the first set of River Basin Management Plans, to be published this month.

Water: EU Law

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to ensure that it meets the requirements of the European water framework directive by the deadlines set in the implementation timetable for that directive.

Huw Irranca-Davies: To date, we have met all the requirements of the European water framework directive as set out in the implementation timetable. The next key deadline is the publication of the River Basin Management Plans which we intend to publish on or before 22 December 2009, as required by the directive.

Water: EU Law

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the final river basin management plans will include mechanisms relating to diffuse pollution.

Huw Irranca-Davies: There are a number of mechanisms within the river basin management plans relating to diffuse pollution from agricultural sources, and non-agricultural sources. Non-agricultural sources can include run-off from transport, on-street activities such as car washing, industrial estates, forestry and leisure industries and discharges from contaminated land and disused mines. Examples of the mechanisms include the England Catchment Sensitive Farming Delivery Initiative which provides advice to reduce diffuse water pollution from agriculture and the pesticides statutory code of practice.
	There are also a significant number of investigations contained within the plans which will enable a greater understanding of the sources and causes of diffuse pollution and will provide the evidence base to require further action.
	In addition we will continue to demonstrate our commitment and bring forward significant work including Water Protection Zones, sustainable drainage systems, and deal with misconnections into the surface water sewer network.
	Full details of mechanisms for diffuse pollution will be published on the Environment Agency's website at:
	www.environment-agency.gov.uk
	on 22 December 2009, in Annex F "Mechanisms for action".

Water: EU Law

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many rivers he expects to be subject to a reduction of abstraction pressure during the first round of implementation of river basin management plans.

Huw Irranca-Davies: During the first round of river basin management plans, action will be taken at 26 sites which will protect habitats directive sites.
	Through developing the river basin management plans we have identified areas where we need to undertake further investigations to increase our certainty on the causal links between abstraction pressure and the achievement of ecological status. The Environment Agency will investigate approximately 300 sites where the abstraction pressure is greatest to improve its understanding, and where appropriate propose further action to tackle the problems during the first cycle.

Water: EU Law

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he plans to produce implementation plans under the EU Water Framework Directive for steps to be taken at local level in respect of that Directive.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The Environment Agency is the competent authority in respect of the water framework directive, and it has the responsibility for engagement and developing plans at the local level.
	In some places there will be added value from adopting more detailed catchment plans to help deliver River Basin Management Plan objectives during the planning cycles and it supports the pilot project on the River Kennett to produce an implementation plan.
	The Environment Agency will share the knowledge gained through this pilot with other River Basin Liaison Panels, to help identify other catchments that could benefit from a similar approach.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Northern Ireland Legal Services Commission: Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what payments the Northern Ireland Legal Services Commission has made to Grayling Political Strategy in the last 12 months; for what purposes such payments were made; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the contract under which such payments were made.

Bridget Prentice: I have been asked to reply.
	The Northern Ireland Legal Services Commission has not made any payments to Grayling Political Strategy in the last three years.

Administration of Justice

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent progress has been made on devolution of responsibility for criminal justice and policing in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: Progress continues to be made towards the devolution of policing and justice. A financial package has been agreed and a Bill establishing the new Department of Justice has completed its Assembly passage. In addition the First and deputy First Ministers have written to Assembly members as part of a process to identify the new Justice Minister.

Bloody Sunday Tribunal of Inquiry: Expenditure

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland with reference to the answer of 12 November 2009,  Official Report, columns 902-04W, on the Bloody Sunday Tribunal of Inquiry, under what budget headings the expenditure was incurred in each year.

Shaun Woodward: The following table breaks down the yearly expenditure of the Bloody Sunday Inquiry on the basis of cash spend incurred by the Northern Ireland Office. The costs are divided into six broad categories:
	legal costs, which include payments to counsel, inquiry solicitors, and all legal costs for witnesses and family representatives;
	tribunal salaries and expenses, including judges' salaries and travel and accommodation costs, as well as allowances for the judges;
	accommodation, which includes rent and rates for all inquiry offices and venues including costs to facilitate hearings in London;
	IT, which includes cost of IT equipment and computers, consultants, and management of inquiry IT systems;
	staffing, which includes salaries of all staff (both temporary and permanent), and travel and accommodation costs for staff;
	administration costs, which include the running costs of the inquiry offices, cost of arrangements for publishing the report, payments to experts, and other general administration costs.
	
		
			  Type of cost  Expenditure (£) (NIO funding) 
			  2009-10 (to end of September 2009)  
			 Legal costs 388,106 
			 Tribunal salaries and expenses 138,067 
			 Accommodation 137,570 
			 IT 188,832 
			 Staffing 237,255 
			 Administration costs 148,029 
			 Total for 2009-10 1,237,859 
			   
			  2008-09  
			 Legal costs 1,177,297 
			 Tribunal salaries and expenses 657,125 
			 Accommodation 1,259,280 
			 IT 878,219 
			 Staffing 533,869 
			 Administration costs 361,248 
			 Total for 2008-09 4,867,038 
			   
			  2007-08  
			 Legal costs 1,714,001 
			 Tribunal salaries and expenses 700,106 
			 Accommodation 989,113 
			 IT 819,702 
			 Staffing 520,735 
			 Administration costs 310,337 
			 Total for 2067-08 5,053,994 
			   
			  2006-07  
			 Legal costs 6,013,519 
			 Tribunal salaries and expenses 709,638 
			 Accommodation 998,562 
			 IT 845,834 
			 Staffing 478,390 
			 Administration costs 472,921 
			 Total for 2006-07 9,518,864 
			   
			  2005-06  
			 Legal costs 3,108,239 
			 Tribunal salaries and expenses 719,661 
			 Accommodation 1,364,792 
			 IT 910,273 
			 Staffing 714,833 
			 Administration costs 344,168 
			 Total for 2005-06 7,161,966 
			   
			  2004-05  
			 Legal costs 7,722,725 
			 Tribunal salaries and expenses 744,526 
			 Accommodation 1,673,794 
			 IT 2,561,218 
			 Staffing 1,008,623 
			 Administration costs 662,504 
			 Total for 2004-05 14,373,390 
		
	
	In addition to costs incurred by the Northern Ireland Office, the Ministry of Defence has also incurred £3.4 million since January 2005 primarily in relation to legal representation.
	The total cost of the Bloody Sunday Inquiry to the end of September 2009 is £188.7 million, comprising £153.2 million incurred by the Northern Ireland Office and £35.6 million incurred by the Ministry of Defence.

Chief Inspector of Criminal Justice for Northern Ireland: Stratagem

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what payments the Criminal Justice Inspection has made to Stratagem in the last 12 months; for what purposes; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the contract under which such payments were made.

Paul Goggins: This is an operational matter for the Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland, which operates independently of Government. I would encourage the hon. Member to write to Dr. Michael Maguire, the Chief Inspector of Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland.

Crimes of Violence

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many violent crimes were committed against taxi drivers in Northern Ireland in each of the last two years.

Paul Goggins: That is an operational matter for the Chief Constable. I have asked him to reply directly to the hon. Member, and a copy of his letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Departmental Freedom of Information

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 his Department received in 2008; and how many of these received a substantive response within 20 days.

Paul Goggins: The following table provides details of the number of requests received by the Northern Ireland Office in 2008 and the number of requests which received a substantive response within 20 working days.
	
		
			  2008 
			   Number 
			 Requests received 179 
			 Requests which received a substantive response within 20 working days 132 
			  Note: A further 26 requests were answered within permitted extensions to the 20 day deadline under the Freedom of Information Act; specifically, where the deadline for response was extended to allow consideration of the balance of the public interest test. 
		
	
	The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) has committed to publishing quarterly and annual updates in relation to departmental performance under FOI, including information on both the volume and outcome of requests. The annual statistics for 2008 can be found in the Libraries of both Houses and on the MOJ website at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/freedomofinformationquarterly.htm

Departmental Internet

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what redesigns of websites operated by  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies have taken place since 27 June 2007; and what the (i) cost to the public purse and (ii) date of completion of each such redesign was.

Shaun Woodward: The following table shows the cost and date for redesigns of websites since June 2007.
	
		
			  Website  (i) Cost (£)  (ii) Date 
			 Organised Crime Task Force 6,825 November 2009 
			 Youth Justice Agency 4,802.81 November 2007 
			 Forensic Science NI 6,187.50 October 2009

Departmental Telephone Services

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many telephone lines with the prefix  (a) 0870,  (b) 0845 and  (c) 0800 his Department (i) operates and (ii) sponsors; how many calls were received to each number in the last 12 months; and whether alternative numbers charged at the BT local rate are available in each case.

Paul Goggins: The requested information is set out in the following table. It is applicable to the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) core Department only.
	
		
			   Operate or sponsor  Call received to number in the last 12 months  Alternative number charged at the BT local rate available 
			  Telephone lines with prefix 0870 - - - 
			 
			  Telephone lines with prefix 0845
			 Phoneline for Perpetrators of Domestic Violence 0845 1228608 National Phoneline is sponsored by Home Office for service for England and Wales. NIO sponsors service for NI callers 31 calls received from NI residents (during period  1 October 2008 to 30 September 2009 i.e. period for which stats are available) No 
			 Mentally Disordered Victim Information Scheme 0845 6025488 NIO Less than 10 call per year No 
			 
			  Telephone lines with prefix 0800
			 24 Hour Domestic Violence Helpline 0800 9171414 NIO sponsors in partnership with DHSSPS and NIHE 30,054 calls (during period  1 October 2008 to 30 September 2009 i.e. period for which stats are available) No

Departmental Written Questions

John Mason: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many questions tabled for answer on a named day his Department received in each of the last 12 months; and to how many such questions his Department provided a substantive answer on the day named.

Paul Goggins: Out of the 115 named day questions received for 2009 to date (as at 4 December), the Northern Ireland Office has answered 89 questions substantively on the day named. This equates to 77 per cent. The following table provides a breakdown per month.
	
		
			   Total received  Answered substantively 
			 January 30 21 
			 February 4 3 
			 March 13 13 
			 April 7 7 
			 May 5 3 
			 June 13 8 
			 July 18 15 
			 August - - 
			 September 2 2 
			 October 10 9 
			 November 12 7 
			 December 1 1 
			 Total 115 89 
		
	
	Central guidance on answering parliamentary questions is now available in the "Guide to Parliamentary Work" at:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/parliamentary-clerk-guide.aspx
	In the response to the Procedure Committee report on written parliamentary questions, the Government accepted the Committee's recommendation that Departments be required to provide the Procedure Committee with sessional statistics in a standard format on the time taken to respond to written parliamentary questions, accompanied by an explanatory memorandum setting out any factors affecting their performance. This will be taken forward as soon as possible.

Departmental Written Questions

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many and what percentage of parliamentary questions tabled for written answer by his Department on a named day in session 2008-09 received a substantive answer on that day.

Paul Goggins: Out of the 122 named day questions received for 2008-09 to date (as at 4 December), the Northern Ireland Office has answered 94 questions substantively on the day named. This equates to 77 per cent. The following table provides a breakdown per month.
	
		
			   Total received  Answered substantively 
			  2008   
			 December 11 9 
			
			  2009   
			 January 30 21 
			 February 4 3 
			 March 13 13 
			 April 7 7 
			 May 5 3 
			 June 13 8 
			 July 18 15 
			 August - - 
			 September 2 2 
			 October 10 9 
			 November 9 4 
			 Total 122 94 
		
	
	Central guidance on answering parliamentary questions is now available in the "Guide to Parliamentary Work", at:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/parliamentary-clerk-guide.aspx
	In the response to the Procedure Committee Report on written parliamentary questions, the Government accepted the Committee's recommendation that Departments be required to provide the Procedure Committee with sessional statistics in a standard format on the time taken to respond to written parliamentary questions, accompanied by an explanatory memorandum setting out any factors affecting their performance. This will be taken forward as soon as possible.

Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People: Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what payments the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People has made to Chambré Public Affairs in the last 12 months; for what purpose; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the contract under which such payments have been made.

Shaun Woodward: The sponsorship of the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People is a matter for the devolved Administration.

Security Forces Collusion With Loyalist Terrorists Enquiry: Stress

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether a member of the Stevens Inquiry team has been awarded a payment in respect of a work-related stress condition while working in Northern Ireland.

Shaun Woodward: That is an operational matter for the Chief Constable, since Sir John Stevens' investigation was funded by the Police Service for Northern Ireland. I have asked the Chief Constable to reply directly to the hon. Member, and a copy of his letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Young People: Driving Offences

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many school pupils in Northern Ireland were convicted of  (a) a motoring offence that resulted in a fatality and  (b) careless driving in each of the last two years.

Paul Goggins: The information is not available in the format requested as it is not possible to determine from conviction data the number of offenders convicted of motoring offences causing death and offences related to careless driving, who were school pupils. It is only possible to give the number of persons aged 18 and under (at date of offence), of whom school pupils may be a subset, convicted for these offences. Figures for these are documented in the following table.
	Data cover the calendar years 2005 and 2006 (the latest year for which figures are available) and are collated on the principal offence rule; so only the most serious offence with which an offender is charged is included.
	
		
			  Number aged 18 and under( 1 ) convicted of motoring offences causing death and careless driving/driving without due care and attention 2005-06 
			   Motoring offences causing death  Careless driving/driving without due care and attention( 2, 3, 4) 
			 2005 1 130 
			 2006 2 144 
			 (1) Based on the age at date of offence. (2) 2005 figure includes three convictions for the offence 'driving without reasonable consideration for others' and one for 'causing grievous bodily injury' by driving carelessly with excess alcohol'. (3) 2006 figure includes one conviction for the offence 'driving without reasonable consideration for others'. (4) Excludes careless driving offences causing death and dangerous driving offences.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Departmental Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission whether the House of Commons Commission has engaged any  (a) public relations firms and  (b) consultancies in the last 12 months.

Nick Harvey: There have been no additional engagements since my answer on 3 February 2009,  Official Report, column 1102W.

Speaker's Adviser

Kate Hoey: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission with reference to the answer of 15 October 2009,  Official Report, columns 1039-40W, on the Speaker, for how many days Mr. Speaker's special adviser has worked since his appointment.

Nick Harvey: The Speaker's special adviser has worked for 34 days up to 30 November 2009.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Arts Council England: Administration

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much Arts Council England has spent on administration costs in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: Information on Arts Council England's administration costs is published in their annual accounts for 2008-09. These are the most recently available data.

Arts Council England: Conditions of Employment

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 30 November 2009,  Official Report, column 374W, on Arts Council England: reorganisation, how much will be spent on  (a) early retirement,  (b) redundancy payments and  (c) increases in pay for staff as part of the restructuring; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: This is a matter for Arts Council England, which operates independently of Government.
	I have therefore asked Arts Council England's chief executive to consider the question raised by the Member for West Bromwich, East and write to him direct.
	Copies of the reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Arts Council England: Conditions of Employment

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions he has had with Arts Council England on  (a) the final severance and  (b) pension arrangements for outgoing senior employees of the organisation.

Margaret Hodge: Final severance and pension arrangements are operational matters for Arts Council England. I have had no such discussions.

Arts Council England: Finance

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the size of Arts Council England's pension fund deficit is; what it was in each year since 2000; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: Information on Arts Council England's pension fund is published in their annual accounts. Valuations take place every three years and the next is due on 31 March 2010. Issues such as pay and pensions are operational matters for Arts Council England.

Arts Council England: Finance

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much funding Arts Council England has received from the National Lottery in each of the last five financial years.

Ben Bradshaw: Art Council England's share of proceeds from the national lottery (including investment income) for the last five years was:
	
		
			  Financial year  £  million 
			 2004-05 169.2 
			 2005-06 171.9 
			 2006-07 149.3 
			 2007-08 151.5 
			 2008-09(1) 145.3 
			 (1 )The figure for 2008-09 is still subject to audit and is the net amount available for distribution after Art Council England's contribution to the Olympics has been taken into account.

Arts Council England: Finance

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much funding Arts Council England has received from his Department through grant-in-aid in each of the last five financial years.

Ben Bradshaw: The following table shows Arts Council England grant-in-aid outturn figures from my Department's published accounts in each of the last five financial years.
	
		
			   Final published outturn (£000) 
			 2004-05 369,859 
			 2005-06 409,178 
			 2006-07 427,862 
			 2007-08 422,610 
			 2008-09 436,531

Arts Council England: Pensions

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the pension arrangements are for  (a) senior staff and  (b) other employees of Arts Council England; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: This is a matter for Arts Council England, which operates independently of Government.
	I have therefore asked Arts Council England's chief executive to write to the Member for West Bromwich, East directly.
	Copies of the reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Arts Council England: Pensions

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will meet the Chief Executive of Arts Council England to discuss the organisation's pension fund deficit.

Margaret Hodge: Ministers meet with Arts Council England representatives on a regular basis to discuss a range of issues. However, issues such as pay and pensions are operational matters for Arts Council England.

Bookmakers: Licensing

Richard Caborn: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will instruct the Gambling Commission to undertake a study of the effect on betting exchanges of persons operating as unlicensed bookmakers.

Gerry Sutcliffe: My Department and the Gambling Commission are aware of concerns about unlicensed individuals allegedly acting in the course of business as bookmakers on betting exchanges. The Government and the commission have made it clear that anyone doing so requires the appropriate licence.

Copyright: Music

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will place in the Library a copy of each item of correspondence between Ministers in his Department and  (a) the Federation Against Copyright Theft and  (b) the British recorded music industry in the last 12 months.

Si�n Simon: The information is as follows:
	 (a) There has been no correspondence between Ministers in this Department and the Federation Against Copyright Theft in the last 12 months.
	 (b) Copies of eight pieces of correspondence between Ministers in this Department and the British Recorded Music Industry (which we understand to mean the British Phonographic Industries) will be placed in the Library of the House. These do not include correspondence relating to the development of policy which it would be inappropriate to place in the public domain at this time.

Copyright: Music

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many meetings  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials have held with representatives from (i) the Federation Against Copyright Theft, (ii) the British recorded music industry and (iii) the Open Rights Group in the last 12 months. [R]  [Official Report, 5 January 2010, Vol. 503, c. 1MC.]

Si�n Simon: Ministers have met with representatives from the British recorded music industry (which we understand to mean the British phonographic industries) on six occasions in the last 12 months. Officials were present at two of those meetings. Ministers also met representatives from the Featured Artists Coalition on one occasion. In addition, officials met bilaterally with representatives of the BRMI on three occasions, and were involved in several wider meetings.
	Neither Ministers nor officials in my Department have met representatives from the Federation Against Copyright Theft or the Open Rights Group in the last 12 months. However, I had informal discussions with the Open Rights Group at the Cbinet Conference held on 26-28 October.

Departmental Art Works

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department spent on artwork in the last 12 months; and what works of art were purchased.

Si�n Simon: Works of art displayed in my Department are from the Government Art Collection (GAC), which publishes an annual list of acquisitions. The most recent details of acquisitions made by the GAC were published on 5 October 2009 and are available on the GAC website:
	http://www.gac.culture.gov.uk/information/publications.asp

Departmental Conferences

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which conferences held overseas have been attended by civil servants based in his Department in the last three years; and what the cost to the public purse was of such attendance at each conference.

Si�n Simon: This information is not held centrally and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Departmental Internet

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what redesigns of websites operated by  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies have been carried out since 27 June 2007; what the cost to the public purse was of each redesign; and when each redesign was conducted.

Si�n Simon: My Department and its agency have not redesigned any websites since 27 June 2007.

Departmental Manpower

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many staff of his Department were in its redeployment pool on 1  (a) January,  (b) April,  (c) July and  (d) October 2009.

Si�n Simon: Our redeployment policy only came into effect on 13 May 2009. Thereafter in July  (c) there were seven members of staff in the redeployment pool. In October  (d) this reduced to three members of staff in the redeployment pool.

Departmental Plants

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much has been spent by his Department on  (a) cut flowers and  (b) pot plants in each of the last three years.

Si�n Simon: The Department has spent the following amounts on:
	
		
			  (£) 
			   (a) Cut flowers  (b) Pot plants 
			 2006-07 652 22,078 
			 2007-08 666 24,064 
			 2008-09 594 14,431

Departmental Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what payments the National Lottery Commission has made to Hill and Knowton in each of the last 12 months for which figures are available; for what purpose; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the contracts under which such payments have been made.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The National Lottery Commission has advised that during 2009 they made one payment of £1,500.37 to Hill and Knowlton, on 12 March.
	No further payments have been made and the commission has no ongoing contract with Hill and Knowlton. All payments made to Hill and Knowlton were in respect of media relations support, strategic communications advice, planning and stakeholder engagement support, primarily for the delivery of the Third Licence Competition. The contract was awarded to Hill and Knowlton after a full competitive tender process.
	All contracts are commercially confidential and because of this it would be inappropriate to place a copy in the Library of the House.

Departmental Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what payments VisitBritain has made to Connect Public Affairs in the last 12 months for which figures are available; for what purpose; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the contracts under which such payments have been made.

Margaret Hodge: VisitBritain pays £907.38+VAT per calendar month to Connect Public Affairs for a political monitoring and support service. In the last 12 months that totals £10,889+VAT.
	VisitBritain inform us that their contract with Connect Public Affairs is commercially confidential, and because of this it would be inappropriate to place a copy in the Libraries of the House as requested.

Departmental Publicity

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department has spent on  (a) Ministerial photoshoots and  (b) production of videos in which Ministers appear in the last three years for which figures are available.

Si�n Simon: The Department has spent the following amounts on ministerial  (a) photo shoots and  (b) video productions during the last two complete financial years:
	
		
			  £ 
			   (a) Photo shoots  (b) Video productions 
			 2007-08 1,521.76 2,579.00 
			 2008-09 1,188.23 920.00 
		
	
	These figures are exclusive of VAT. Expenditure for 2006-07 is unavailable, due to the way costs were broken down during this period.
	Additionally, photography and video content, produced as a part of larger projects, cannot be categorised.

Departmental Training

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many overseas training courses were attended by his Department's civil servants in the latest period for which figures are available; how many civil servants attended each course; and what the total cost to the public purse was of each course.

Si�n Simon: This Department has not sent any member of staff on overseas training in the financial years 2008-09 and 2009-10, which is the latest period for which figures are available.

Departmental Travel

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many  (a) away days and  (b) conferences that took place outside his Department's building attended by civil servants in his Department there have been since 2005; and what the cost was of each.

Si�n Simon: Details of away days and conferences are not centrally recorded, and the information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	The Department's accounting system does not record expenditure on away days separately from other staff training and development costs and to identify and summarise these costs for the period would incur disproportionate cost.
	The expenditure on conferences within the Department's administration costs for financial years 2005-06 to 2008-09 is set out in the table.
	
		
			  Financial year  £ 
			 2008-09 92,150 
			 2007-08 158,190 
			 2006-07 231,220 
			 2005-06 170,280 
		
	
	These figures include conference running costs, room hire, hospitality, accommodation and travel costs of conference speakers.
	An analysis of costs by each conference could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Written Questions

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many and what percentage of parliamentary questions tabled for written answer by his Department on a named day in session 2008-09 received a substantive answer on that day.

Si�n Simon: My Department(1) received 502 parliamentary questions tabled for answer on a named day during the parliamentary Session 2008-09. The amount given a substantive reply on the named day was 244 (48.61 per cent.)
	My Department endeavours to answer all named day parliamentary questions on the allocated day but where this is not possible we aim to provide a substantive reply at the earliest opportunity possible.
	Central guidance on answer parliamentary questions is now available in the 'Guide to Parliamentary Work', at
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/parliamentary-clerk-guide.aspx
	In the response to the Procedure Committee report on written parliamentary questions, the Government accepted the Committee's recommendation that Departments be required to provide the Procedure Committee with sessional statistics in a standard format on the time taken to respond to written parliamentary questions, accompanied by an explanatory memorandum setting out any factors affecting their performance. This will be taken forward as soon as possible.
	(1 )Includes figures for named day parliamentary questions tabled to the Minister for the Olympics.

Gambling Commission: Birmingham

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much the Gambling Commission paid in staff travel costs in respect of commuting between London and Birmingham in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Gerry Sutcliffe: In the 12 months up to 30 November 2009, the Gambling Commission paid £17,897.52 in staff travel costs in respect of commuting. This figure is in respect of staff on detached duty for commuting between London and Birmingham.

Government Art Collection

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many items from the Government Art Collection have been loaned to public galleries in each of the past 10 years; and how many items from the collection are located in  (a) departmental offices,  (b) ministerial residences,  (c) offices of non-departmental public bodies,  (d) public galleries,  (e) diplomatic missions overseas,  (f) storage and  (g) other locations.

Margaret Hodge: The Government Art Collection lent the following number of works of art to public galleries in the last 10 years, both for temporary exhibitions and on a long-term loan basis:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2000-01 49 
			 2001-02 45 
			 2002-03 45 
			 2003-04 50 
			 2004-05 44 
			 2005-06 35 
			 2006-07 62 
			 2007-08 96 
			 2008-09 99 
			 2009 to date 79 
		
	
	 (a)- (g) I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Member for Stevenage (Barbara Follett) to the hon. Member for South-West Surrey (Mr. Hunt) on 15 May 2009, Official Report, columns 1045-47W. The Government Art Collection is unable to produce further figures in the time given.

Government: Assets

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether he plans to take steps to prevent  (a) playing fields,  (b) other sports facilities and  (c) libraries being disposed of in the Government's proposed sale of public assets.

Ben Bradshaw: The Government's proposed sale of public assets did not include plans to dispose of playing fields, sports facilities and libraries, which are primarily matters for local authorities. Any asset sales would be based on proposals by individual local authorities as central Government do not determine what assets they may wish to sell.
	On the subject of playing fields, I would like to outline current protections. Since 1998, any proposed sale of school playing fields by a local authority has required permission from the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families. Additionally, local authorities are required to consult Sport England where planning applications affect land used as a playing field in the preceding five years. In April this year these protections were strengthened further by reducing the size of land in question from 0.4 hectares to 0.2 hectares.

Licensing Laws

James Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many applications for licences to sell alcohol by a person who had previously held a licence were refused in each of the last three years because he or she had served alcohol to a person who was inebriated.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information is not held centrally. The Alcohol, Entertainment and Late Night Refreshment Licensing Statistical Bulletin collects the number of new personal licence applications which were granted and refused.
	It does not, however, break down the reasons for why these were refused.

National Lottery

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport with reference to the projections in Table 2.9 of Budget 2009, how much he expects to be in the National Lottery Distribution Fund in each year to 2013-14; and if he will make a statement.

Si�n Simon: Our current estimates for the size of the National Lottery Distribution Fund are:
	
		
			   £ billion 
			 2009-10 1.2 
			 2010-11 0.9 
			 2011-12 0.7 
			 2012-13 0.7 
			 2013-14 0.9 
		
	
	All figures are for the year end on 31 March.

Playing Fields: Schools

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps his Department has taken to restrict the sale of school playing fields by local authorities; and if he will make a statement.

Iain Wright: I have been asked to reply.
	Since the introduction of legislation in 1998, under section 77 of the School Standards and Framework Act, all schools and local authorities in England have needed the Secretary of State's written consent before they can sell a school playing field or any part of a school playing field. A sale is only allowed if the playing field in question is genuinely surplus to schools needs and any community groups that may happen to use them. Also, all of the proceeds of sale must be used to improve school sports provision in the first instance. Only when it has been demonstrated that no sports facilities are needed can the proceeds be used for other educational facilities.

Royal Parks: Parking

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what  (a) primary and  (b) secondary legislation would be required to introduce car parking charges in those Royal Parks where charging is not in force.

Margaret Hodge: No primary legislation would be required to introduce car parking charges in Royal Parks.
	Car parking charges can be introduced in the Royal Parks by regulations made under the Parks Regulation (Amendment) Act 1926 and the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984.
	The regulations are subject to negative resolution.

Tourism

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what recent assessment he has made of the level of associated expenditure in local economies from visitors in self-catering accommodation;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the repeal of the furnished holiday lettings rules on the quality of tourism products and services.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 10 December 2009
	The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has not made any recent assessment of the associated expenditure in local economies from visitors to self-catering businesses.
	In respect of the repeal of the furnished holiday lettings rules, the tourism industry has undertaken its own evaluation of the impact on rural and seaside communities, in which most self-catering operators are located. I am aware of the industry's concerns, but any assessment of changes in the taxation arrangements affecting such businesses is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Chancellor. An impact assessment was published alongside the draft regulations on 9 December.
	I am also aware of the industry's concerns that the furnished holiday lettings rule changes will impact on the ability of self-catering operators to invest in and maintain their properties. I am continuing to discuss this matter with the Treasury.

Tourism: VAT

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations he has received on the application of a reduced rate of value added tax to visitor attractions, catering and accommodation; and whether he has discussed that matter with HM Revenue and Customs.

Margaret Hodge: I regularly meet the sector through the Tourism Advisory Council and the Tourism Alliance. While tax issues are, of course, a matter for the Treasury, this Department continues to work across Government to represent the concerns of the tourism industry at the highest level and I remain in discussion with the Treasury about the impact such measures will have.

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Better Communication Action Plan

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what progress has been made in implementing the Better Communication Action Plan; and if he will make a statement.

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what progress the Government has made in its response to the Bercow Report on services for children and young people with speech, language and communications needs.

Diana Johnson: Following the Bercow review of services for children and young people with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN), the Government published Better Communication: An action plan to improve services for children and young people with SLCN, backed by £12 million investment.
	As part of the action plan, the Department of Children, Schools and Families and the Department of Health have chosen 16 local areas to become SLCN commissioning pathfinders. The 16 pilot areas have been chosen to identify good practice in providing support for children with SLCN through the joint working of organisations such as primary care trusts and local authorities. This will be used to develop a national framework to improve the way services are delivered for children across the country.
	Jean Gross was announced as the communication champion on 15 October 2009, and we have established the Communication Council, which met for the first time on 21 September 2009, to support initiatives to improve services for children with SLCN. As communication champion, Jean Gross will raise awareness of the importance of communication, share good practice and lead delivery of a national year.
	In addition, the university of Warwick has been selected to lead a consortium delivering a three-year research programme on the cost-effectiveness of interventions and to guide the development of future policy and practice in providing services for children and young people with SLCN.
	12 organisations working to support children with alternative and augmentative communication needs have been chosen to share grants totalling £500,000 this year as part of Becta's commitment to provide £1.5 million of funding over the next three years. These grants aim to support delivery and provision of services.

Building Schools for the Future Programme

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families when he expects work to begin on the new build elements of the Building Schools for the Future programmes in Pendle at  (a) Colne Park High School,  (b) Fisher More Catholic High School,  (c) West Craven High Technology College and  (d) Colne Primet High School; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: Lancashire county council was among the 13 local authorities which have recently been given approval to rebuild or refurbish secondary schools in their area as part of the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme. Pending a successful Remit meeting, Lancashire will formally enter the programme for their next phase of BSF investment by April 2010.
	Colne Park High, Fisher More Catholic High, West Craven High Technology College and Colne Primet High School are included in this phase of Lancashire's project. Work is currently scheduled to commence around April 2011 and complete by September 2012; this timetable is subject to review as the project develops.
	 Lancashire BSF
	Future BSF projects: First follow-on project due to begin before April 2010.
	BSF schools open to date: Three.
	Total capital investment: Wave 1 £33.7 million (conventional funding-Excl academies); £246.6 million (PFI credits).
	Total number of schools: Nine plus two Academies
	 First follow-on project
	Remit meetings are currently being arranged and it is anticipated that Lancashire shall formally enter into the next Wave of investment in their BSF programme before April 2010.
	Colne Park High, Fisher More Catholic High, West Craven High Technology College and Colne Primet High School are included in the first follow-on project and the indicative programme indicates that work on these schools will commence around April 2011 and complete by September 2012. However, it is important to note that this programme is subject to review as work progresses.

Capita

Don Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether any contracts between Capita Group plc and his Department and its predecessors have been cancelled before completion since 1997; and whether Capita Group plc has been liable for any penalties arising from failings in the administration of contracts with his Department and its predecessors since 1997.

Diana Johnson: This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Capita

Don Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families on how many occasions Capita Group plc tendered for contracts let by his Department and its predecessors in each of the last five years; how many such tenders were successful; how much his Department and its predecessors paid to Capita Group plc for the execution of contracts in each such year; how many contracts which terminate after 2010 Capita Group plc hold with his Department; and what the monetary value is of all outstanding contracts between his Department and Capita Group plc.

Diana Johnson: A complete answer to this question could be supplied only at disproportionate cost. I can tell you, however, that the Department spent the following amounts with Capita over the past five years:
	
		
			   £ 
			 April 2005 to March 2006 205,305,614 
			 April 2006 to March 2007 119,837,133 
			 April 2007 to March 2008 115,531,705 
			 April 2008 to March 2009 135,694,436 
			 April 2009 to October 2009 71,155,087 
		
	
	Total payments made to Capita during the period was £647,523,975.
	The Department currently holds 15 direct contracts with Capita Group with a total value worth £82million and 48 contracts through a framework agreement with the Department for Works and Pensions. It would not be possible to identify how much has been paid against these contracts without disproportionate costs.

Children: Databases

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether ContactPoint users are trained in the detection and removal of malware.

Dawn Primarolo: ContactPoint users will be able to access ContactPoint only from computers that are part of an accredited system. This accreditation includes a requirement that systematic processes and software tools are in place to report incidents and to detect malware and spyware.
	Most software tools are automated and do not require intervention from the users in order to detect malware or spyware. Training users to respond to malware detection is part of the accrediting organisation's normal responsibility.
	Removing malware is a highly-skilled task requiring system-level access rights that most ContactPoint users will not possess. Commercial best practice is that malware removal is carried out by dedicated IT support teams.

Children: Day Care

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what funding his Department has allocated to the National Childminding Association for the delivery of consultancy services to every local authority in 2009-10.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department's Strategic Grant for 2009-10 to the National Childminding Association (NCMA) to help develop and sustain home-based child care, includes £270,112 for consultancy advice and support to local authorities.

Children: Day Care

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what his most recent estimate is of the number of childminders who are not registered with Ofsted.

Dawn Primarolo: No estimate has been made of the number of unregistered child minders since there is no reliable method of making this estimate.

Children: Homelessness

Tim Loughton: .

Dawn Primarolo: This information is not collected centrally.

Children: Protection

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps his Department is taking to  (a) improve and  (b) encourage information sharing between (i) local authorities, (ii) police forces, (iii) the Probation Service and (iv) NHS services when assessing risks to children.

Dawn Primarolo: The Government recognise the importance of effective and appropriate information sharing to help those who need additional services and in safeguarding and promoting their welfare. Information sharing between practitioners is an essential part of building a complete picture of the situation, being able to correctly assess the risks and in enabling effective early intervention to help improve outcomes for all.
	While there is already much good practice in information sharing and growing evidence of increasing confidence among practitioners, we recognise that in some situations practitioners are still unsure when they can share information lawfully. The Government are continuing to work with partners across all sectors, to raise awareness of good information sharing practice and to promote the guidance and training materials that support it.
	HM Government's Information Sharing: Guidance for Practitioners and Managers which is for practitioners across children's and adult's services (including local authorities, police forces, the Probation Service and the NHS), was developed and published in October 2008 by a cross-Government team.
	The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) led this work, in association with representatives of other Government Departments including Department of Health (DH), Cabinet Office, Home Office (HO) and Ministry of Justice (MOJ). The guidance, together with additional supporting materials, can be found on the DCSF website at:
	www.dcsf.gov.uk/ecm/informationsharing
	It explains when and how information can be shared legally and professionally, in order to achieve improved outcomes. It also advises how organisations should support practitioners to embed appropriate information sharing practices, including in national standards and codes of practice, where appropriate.
	The National Safeguarding Delivery Unit (NSDU) was established in response to the recommendations made in Lord Laming's The Protection of Children in England: A Progress Report (2009) to provide a strong, co-ordinated strategic lead across four Departments (DCSF, MOJ, HO and DH). As part of its programme of activity, the unit is taking forward work to help embed good information sharing practice.
	The Department has also developed a set of tools to make it easier for practitioners to work together and share information appropriately. These include ContactPoint, which is an online directory that provides a quick way for authorised practitioners to find out who else is working with the same child, the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) to help practitioners assess children and young people's additional needs, develop a common understanding of those needs and how to work together to meet them, and National eCAF, which is currently in development and will be a secure IT system for storing and accessing information captured through the CAF.

Children: Protection

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what guidance his Department issues to local authorities on when to initiate child protection procedures.

Dawn Primarolo: Guidance to local authorities on when to initiate child protection procedures is contained within Chapter 5 of the statutory guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children. This is currently being revised in response to the recommendations made by Lord Laming in The Protection of Children in England: A Progress Report.

Christmas

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much his Department has spent on Christmas  (a) cards,  (b) parties and  (c) decorations in the last 12 months.

Diana Johnson: In the last 12 months, the Department spent £2,737 on Christmas cards and £542 on a Christmas tree at its headquarters building. The Department does not fund Christmas parties.

Community Relations: Religion

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families with reference to the answer of 5 November 2009,  Official Report, column 1120W, on Community Relations: Faith Schools, if he will assess the effect on community cohesion of faith schools; and if he will make a statement.

Diana Johnson: The Department does not currently hold data or have any mechanisms in place to assess the effect of faith schools on levels of cohesion in particular areas.
	All maintained schools in England have had a duty to promote community cohesion since September 2007. This has been inspected by Ofsted since September 2008. Data are therefore available on Ofsted's judgment of how schools are performing in fulfilling that duty and many faith schools are included in those receiving good or outstanding. The judgment relates to the contribution an individual school is making given its local context. Schools are not held accountable for the level of cohesion in a local area which will be influenced by a large number of factors.
	As part of the Department's work to support schools in meeting their duty to promote community cohesion, the Department's officials have commissioned Ipsos/Mori to assess the impact of the community cohesion duty on different types of maintained schools which includes faith schools. The findings from the study will be published in autumn 2010.

Departmental Energy

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much his Department spent on energy bills in respect of its estate in each year since its inception; and how much he expects to spend in each of the next two years.

Diana Johnson: The Department for Children, Schools and Families spent the following amounts on energy bills in the following years:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2007/08 1,489,366 
			 2008/09 1,683,021 
		
	
	Due to billing cycles differing in each of our buildings, it is not possible to provide any figures for the current financial year, and as we are only a proportion of the way through the year, such figures would not be comparable with those above.
	The Department is not in possession of sufficient information to predict its expenditure on energy for the next two years.

Departmental Finance

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much funding his Department has allocated for the  (a) Parent Know How campaign,  (b) child development grant,  (c) training of the 5,000 outreach advisers referred to in the Children's Plan and  (d) Respect Parenting experts in each of the 77 designated areas in each financial year since 2006-07; and from what budget (i) such funding and (ii) funding for the two parenting advisers in each local authority has been drawn.

Dawn Primarolo: The funding allocated by DCSF to the programmes is as follows:
	 (a) Parent Know How S ervices
	Parent Know How began in 2008 and is a suite of family services delivered through telephone helplines, online digital services and through print media. It is delivered by a range of third and private sector organisations.
	
		
			   £ 
			 2008-09 15,506,000 
			 2009-10 15,147,000 
			 2010-11 £16,324,000 
		
	
	Funding in 2008-09 includes £4.1 million for local authorities to purchase new database systems as part of the Parent Know How Directory. Figures include capital and revenue funding and are rounded to the nearest thousand.
	 (b) Child Development Grant
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2008-09 0.75 
			 2009-10 5 
			 2010-11 7 
		
	
	 (c) Outreach Adviser Training
	The Department has allocated up to £4 million in this spending period for outreach training, and will publish details of training soon. This funding is being drawn from the Department's programme budgets for these financial years.
	 (d) Respect Parenting Practitioners
	The Respect Parenting Practitioners received funding of £3.85 million in 2007-08 from the Home Office Respect Task Force budget and £3.85 million each year in 2008-09 and 2009-10 from the Department for Children Schools and Families (DCSF) Families Group budget. Each of the 77 local authorities was allocated £50,000 per year over the three years.
	The Parenting Experts have been allocated a total of £9 million in 2008-10 and £11.5 million in 2009-10. This has been funded from the DCSF Families Group budget.

Departmental Finance

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much his Department has allocated to  (a) the Graduate Leader Fund,  (b) extending the free early learning entitlement to 38 weeks per year,  (c) the Free Childcare for Training and Learning for Work programme and  (d) Early Excellence centres from the Standards Fund in (i) 2009-10 and (ii) 2010-11.

Dawn Primarolo: The information is as follows:
	 (a) The Department has allocated £305 million during the period 2008-11 for the Graduate Leader Fund (GLF), made up of £232 million in the Sure Start Early Years Childcare Grant for settings, routed via local authorities, and £73 million for the Children's Workforce Development Council (CWDC) to deliver Early Years Professional Status training and accreditation.
	This funding forms part of the Sure Start, Early Years and Childcare Grant (SSEYCG) distributed by local authorities and is part of the main revenue funding block which is not ring-fenced for the GLF.
	 (b) The free early learning entitlement is being extended from 12.5 hours a week for 38 weeks a year to 15 hours a week for 38 weeks a year in a staged roll-out. Since September 2009 all local authorities have been delivering an extended offer of 15 hours a week to their 25 per cent. most disadvantaged three and four-year-olds. From September 2010 all eligible three and four-year-old children will be entitled to 15 hours a week free provision over no fewer than 38 weeks of the year offered on a more flexible basis to better meet families' needs. Funding of £170 million in 2009-10 and £340 million in 2010-11 has been made available through the Standards Fund to fund the additional 2.5 hours per week of provision and flexible delivery. This funding is over and above that which local authorities currently receive through the Dedicated Schools Grant for the current 12.5 hour free entitlement.
	 (c) For the Free Childcare for Training and Learning for Work scheme we have allocated £25 million for 2009-10 and a further £40 million for 2010-11.
	 (d) Funding for Early Excellence Centres from the Department ceased at the end of March 2006.

Departmental Finance

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much his Department spent on the  (a) Childcare Sufficiency and Access Grant,  (b) Sure Start Children's Centre,  (c) Sure Start local programmes and  (d) Outcomes, Quality and Inclusion block of the Sure Start, Early Years and Childcare Grant in each financial year between 2003-04 and 2007-08.

Dawn Primarolo: The spend by local authorities on Sure Start Children's Centres and Sure Start Local Programmes between 2003-04 is shown in Table 1. The Childcare Sufficiency and Access and Outcomes Quality and Inclusion blocks of the Sure Start, Early Years and Childcare Grant did not come into being until 2008-09.
	
		
			  Table 1. Local authority spend on Sure Start Children's Centres and Sure Start Local Programmes from 2003-04 to 2007-08. 
			  £ million 
			2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Revenue Sure Start Local Programmes 306.0 360.0 381.8 376.6 315.1 
			  Children's Centres 2.2 11.0 90.0 251.5 314.7 
			  Sub total 308.2 371.0 471.8 628.1 629.8 
			 Capital Children's Centres 2.0 11.8 184.4 203.0 288.2 
			  Total 310.2 382.8 656.2 831.1 918.0 
		
	
	Local authorities also received a single capital allocation for Sure Start Local Programmes from 1999-00 to 2005-06 of £459.8 million.

Departmental Finance

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how much his Department plans to spend on the Aiming Higher for Disabled Children block of the Sure Start, Early Years and Childcare Grant in  (a) 2009-10 and  (b) 2010-11;
	(2)  how much was spent on the Aiming Higher for Disabled Children block of the Sure Start, Early Years and Childcare Grant in each financial year between 2003-04 and 2008-09.

Diana Johnson: A breakdown of the Department's Aiming Higher for Disabled Children block of its Sure Start, Early Years and Childcare Grant to local authorities is given in the following table.
	
		
			  £ 
			   2007-08  2008-09  2009-10  2010-11 
			 Revenue 261,541 17,866,495 78,927,431 178,352,610 
			 Capital 0 4,497,000 32,999,700 52,480,500 
			 Total 261,541 22,363,495 111,972,131 230,833,110 
		
	
	There was no funding for the Aiming High for Disabled Children Programme before 2007-08. The figure for 2007-08 is the funding given to 21 pathfinder local authorities in that year and represents actual spend. Figures for 2008-11 are planned spend. These are the latest data the Department holds.

Departmental Mobile Phones

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much his Department and its predecessors spent on  (a) purchasing and  (b) bills for (i) Blackberrys and (ii) other mobile telephones in each of the last three years.

Diana Johnson: The information requested is as follows:
	 ( a) The DCSF and its predecessors have spent the following amounts on the purchase of (i) Blackberry and (ii) other mobile telephones in each of the last three financial years (FYs) including current FY.
	
		
			  £ 
			   2007-08  2008-09  2009-10( 1) 
			 Blackberry devices 24,552 28,675 26,316 
			 Other Mobile Telephones 1,102 1,309 1,222 
			 Total Spend 25,654 29,984 27,538 
			 (1) Current 
		
	
	 (b) Blackberry and other mobile telephone billing information are combined within existing system data records and cannot currently be reported separately.

Departmental Press

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the operational costs of his Department's press office have been in each year since its inception; and how much he expects them to be in each of the next two years.

Diana Johnson: The information is as follows:
	Operational costs of the press office in 2007-08 were £1,955,761
	Operational costs of the press office in 2008-09 were £1,912,411
	Operational costs of the press office so far in 2009-10 are £1,205,515
	There are no resources yet allocated for 2010-11 or 2011-12 for the press office as these figures are yet to be finalised.

Departmental Recruitment

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of jobs advertised by his Department in the last 12 months were online only applications; and what provision his Department makes for those wishing to apply for jobs in his Department who do not have access to the internet.

Diana Johnson: The Department uses the internet and encourages on-line applications, where possible, to improve the quality and efficiency of its recruitment processes. In all of the recruitment campaigns over the 12 months (November 2008 to November 2009) there was always the option to complete a paper based application. The Department also made use of advertising media other than the internet such as Jobcentre Plus, newspapers, career fairs, and university and specialist publications to attract people.

Departmental Recycling

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what weight of paper his Department has recycled in each of the last five years.

Diana Johnson: DCSF Headquarters has recycled the following weights of paper in the last five years:
	
		
			  Detailed tonnages-recycled paper 
			   Publications  Offices  Total tonnages 
			 2004-05 1,082.62 206.98 1,289.6 
			 2005-06 1,082.62 Unknown 1,082.62 
			 2006-07 589 280 869 
			 2007-08 889.85 Unknown 889.85 
			 2008-09 448.16 315.2 763.36 
			 Total 4,092.25 802.18 4,894.43 
		
	
	DCSF Headquarters has produced less publications waste paper due to the introduction of a more efficient publications stock control management system.
	The percentage of waste recycled from total waste arising has increased every year since the Sustainable Development in Government (SDiG) targets baseline year of 2004-05.
	DCSF has exceeded the waste recycling target of 40 per cent. recycled by 2010 for several years (58.9 per cent. in 2007-08) whilst still meeting the target for reducing waste arising by 5 per cent. by 2010 in relation to 2004-05 levels.

Departmental Security

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many security passes his Department has issued to contractors providing consultancy services in the last 12 months.

Diana Johnson: The number of security passes issued by DCSF to contractors providing consultancy services in the last 12 months was 368.

Departmental Working Hours

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what percentage of staff of his Department and its non-departmental public bodies work flexibly or part-time; and what his Department's policy is on making jobs available on a job-share or flexible basis.

Diana Johnson: Information on the numbers working part-time is published regularly in the civil service statistics:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=2899Pos=ColRank=1Rank=422
	The Department offers a range of flexible work arrangements to employees including compressed hours, flexitime, home working, job sharing, partial retirement, part-time working and part-year working. Employees make applications to their line managers who take decisions based on business requirements.
	The civil service operates a job share website which can be found at:
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/jobs/jobshare/for-you/what-is-a-job-share.aspx
	The Department's non-departmental public bodies are responsible for their own employee working arrangements and the information is not held centrally.

Education: Assessments

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many 16-year-olds completed an OCR National Certificate in each subject in each of the last five years.

Vernon Coaker: The following table shows the number of 16-year-olds in England who completed an OCR National Certificate in each subject in each of the last five years for which information is available.
	
		
			  OCR National Certificate Awards achieved by those with an academic age of 16 in England, 2003/4 to 2007/8 
			   Year in which qualification was achieved 
			  Qualification title  2003/04  2004/05  2005/06  2006/07  2007/08 
			 OCR Level 1 National Certificate in Applied Art, Design and Media 0 0 0 0 0 
			 OCR Level 1 National Certificate in Business and ICT 0 (1)- 36 104 197 
			 OCR Level 1 National Certificate in Health and Social Care 0 10 100 166 170 
			 OCR Level 1 National Certificate in ICT 0 0 0 0 0 
			 OCR Level 1 National Certificate in Leisure and Tourism 0 0 (1)- 45 80 
			 OCR Level 2 National Certificate in Art and Design 0 0 0 0 57 
			 OCR Level 2 National Certificate in Business 0 65 208 422 760 
			 OCR Level 2 National Certificate in Design 0 0 0 0 0 
			 OCR Level 2 National Certificate in Health and Social Care 0 178 445 686 814 
			 OCR Level 2 National Certificate in Information Technology 0 25 82 217 596 
			 OCR Level 2 National Certificate in Media 0 5 118 202 201 
			 OCR Level 2 National Certificate in Public Services 0 8 11 9 11 
			 OCR Level 2 National Certificate in Science 0 0 0 40 104 
			 OCR Level 2 National Certificate in Sport 0 35 116 135 140 
			 OCR Level 2 National Certificate in Travel and Tourism 0 4 73 221 399 
			 OCR Level 3 National Certificate in Art and Design 0 0 0 0 0 
			 OCR Level 3 National Certificate in Business 11 28 45 47 69 
			 OCR Level 3 National Certificate in Design 0 0 0 0 0 
			 OCR Level 3 National Certificate in Health, Social Care and Early Years 0 23 50 118 86 
			 OCR Level 3 National Certificate in ICT 0 0 0 0 0 
			 OCR Level 3 National Certificate in Media 0 0 43 78 79 
			 OCR Level 3 National Certificate in Public Services 0 0 0 (1)- 0 
			 OCR Level 3 National Certificate in Sport 0 (1)- 71 83 117 
			 OCR Level 3 National Certificate in Travel and  Tourism 0 3 24 40 45 
			 Total 11 388 1,423 2,614 3925 
			 (1)( )Figures less than three have been suppressed and replaced by -.   Source:  National Information System for Vocational Qualifications.

Education: Class Sizes

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what his Department's most recent estimate is of the average class size in secondary schools;
	(2)  what his Department's most recent estimate is of the average class size in primary schools.

Diana Johnson: Final information on average class size for 2009 was published on 11 August 2009 as an update to the Statistical First Release Schools, Pupils and Their Characteristics: January 2009 (which was originally published on 13 May 2009) and can be found in Table 8 at:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000843/index.shtml

EU Law

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what  (a) statutory instruments and  (b) other regulations his Department has brought forward in this Parliament to meet obligations arising from EU law.

Diana Johnson: The Department for Children, Schools and Families has made one set of regulations by way of statutory instrument in this Parliament to meet obligations arising from EU law, namely the Electronic Commerce Directive (Adoption and Children Act 2002) Regulations 2005. The key policy areas within the Department's remit (education in schools, children's social care and substantive family law) fall outside Community competence.

Every Child A Talker Programme

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what proportion of money from the Every Child A Talker programme has been allocated to  (a) local authorities and  (b) national strategies;
	(2)  what recent progress has been made under the Every Child A Talker programme; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  how many children in England have received support through the Every Child A Talker programme;
	(4)  how much has been spent on the Every Child A Talker programme to date.

Diana Johnson: A total of £41.2 million over a three-year period has been made available to all local authorities as part of the Every Child a Talker programme. This includes up to £50,000 per year for each local authority (and slightly more for areas where it is more expensive to recruit and retain staff) to employ an early language consultant.
	The rest of the funding-the majority-is for staff in early years settings to access training and professional development. No local authority spending data are yet available for the period covering ECaT since its launch in September 2008.
	None of the £41.2 million was allocated to National Strategies. Their role in supporting LAs to implement the ECaT programme is part of their ongoing contract with the Department.
	We do not have details of the number of children who have received support through ECaT as the programme is aimed at improving practitioners' understanding of early language development so that they can focus on raising the speaking and listening skills of children in settings where there is the greatest need. Over 3,500 practitioners will receive training and support through the programme.
	The programme has been widely welcomed by participating local authorities, who have recruited early language consultants and are working with targeted settings. Because of the age of the children expected to benefit from the programme, we do not expect to see a significant impact on Early Years Foundation Stage Profile results until 2010. However, it is encouraging to see significant improvements in the 2009 results of many of the local authorities involved in the first wave of the programme.

Extracurricular Activities

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many  (a) out-of-school and  (b) holiday play schemes there were in (i) each local authority area in the north-west and (ii) England in each of the last five years.

Diana Johnson: The following shows the number of out-of-school clubs in England, and each local authority area in the north-west Government office region in each of the last five years for which data were collected. The last year that Ofsted collected information on out-of-school clubs was 2008 as changes in legislation meant that new categories were introduced for the collection of child care data.
	Information on the number of holiday play schemes is not available as Ofsted do not collect these data.
	
		
			  Number( 1)  of out of school clubs for children under eight years of age 
			  Position at 31 March each year  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 England 9,200 9,700 10,500 10,600 10,700 
			   
			 Blackburn with Darwen 30 30 30 30 20 
			 Blackpool 30 30 30 40 40 
			 Bolton 60 70 70 80 80 
			 Bury 60 70 70 80 80 
			 Cheshire 200 200 200 200 200 
			 Cumbria 100 100 100 100 100 
			 Halton 40 30 30 30 30 
			 Knowsley 40 50 50 50 50 
			 Lancashire 200 300 300 300 300 
			 Liverpool 80 100 100 100 100 
			 Manchester 100 100 100 100 100 
			 Oldham 50 60 70 70 70 
			 Rochdale 50 50 50 50 50 
			 Salford 60 60 60 60 70 
			 Sefton 40 50 60 60 70 
			 St. Helens 30 40 50 60 60 
			 Stockport 60 70 80 80 80 
			 Tameside 40 50 60 60 60 
			 Trafford 60 60 70 70 70 
			 Warrington 80 70 90 70 70 
			 Wigan 60 60 70 70 70 
			 Wirral 70 80 80 80 80 
			 (1) Figures over 100 have been rounded to the nearest 100 and figures under 100 have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: Ofsted

Foster Care

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many assessments of friends and family foster carers were carried out in each  (a) region and  (b) local authority area in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of kinship foster carers aged  (a) 50 to 64 years and  (b) 65 years and over.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is not held centrally by the Department.

Free School Meals

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of students in school sixth forms were entitled to free school meals in the latest 12 month period for which data are available; and if he will make a statement.

Diana Johnson: The requested information is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  State-funded secondary schools( 1, 2) : School meal arrangements of sixth-form pupils( 3, 4, ) as at January 2009, in England 
			   Number/percentage 
			 All pupils 391,660 
			 Pupils eligible for free school meals 20,470 
			 Percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals 5.2 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Include city technology colleges and academies. (3) Sole and dual (main) registrations. (4) Sixth form defined as pupils in National Curriculum year groups 12, 13 and 14.  Source: School Census. 
		
	
	Pupils are recorded as eligible only if a claim for free school meals has been made by them or on their behalf by parents and either (a) the relevant authority has confirmed their eligibility and a free school meal is currently being provided for them, or (b) the school or the local authority have seen the necessary documentation that supports their eligibility, and the administration of the free meal is to follow as a matter of process. It is not known how many pupils could be eligible but are not submitting a claim.

Free School Meals

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families in how many  (a) primary and  (b) secondary schools the proportion of pupils entitled to free school meals has decreased by more than (i) five, (ii) 10, (iii) 15 and (iv) 20 per cent. between 2005 and the latest year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Diana Johnson: The requested information is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Maintained primary( 1)  and state-funded secondary( 1, 2)  schools: Percentage change in free school meal eligibility( 3)  between 2005 and 2009. As at January each year. In England 
			   Primary  Secondary 
			 Number of schools open in both years 16,630 3,200 
			
			  Number of schools whose percentage FSM has fallen by:   
			 5 per cent. 7,440 1,400 
			 10 per cent. 6,480 1,100 
			 15 per cent. 5,530 840 
			 20 per cent. 4,690 610 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes city technology colleges and academies. (3) Includes sole and dual (main) registrations.  Note: Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: School Census

Free School Meals: Expenditure

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the cost to the public purse was of free school meals in  (a) all schools and  (b) school sixth forms in the last year for which figures are available.

Diana Johnson: The Department does not collect this information. It is for individual local authorities to decide how much funding to allocate to school meal provision. Where a school chooses to manage its own budget for school meals, it is also responsible for deciding how much to allocate.

GCSE

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils attended maintained mainstream schools at which fewer than  (a) one per cent.,  (b) five per cent. and  (c) 10 per cent. of pupils at the end of key stage 4 achieved fewer than five GCSEs, including English and mathematics at grade A* to C in the latest year for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: Of pupils at the end of key stage 4 attending maintained mainstream schools, in 2008,
	 (a) 6,222 attended one of the very top performing schools with fewer than 1 per cent. of pupils achieving fewer than five GCSEs at grades A*-C or the equivalent including English and mathematics.
	 (b) 19,536 attended a school with fewer than 5 per cent. of pupils achieving fewer than five GCSEs at grades A*-C or the equivalent including English and mathematics.
	 (c) 23,733 attended a school with fewer than 10 per cent. of pupils achieving fewer than five GCSEs at grades A*-C or the equivalent including English and mathematics.
	Only those schools published in the 2008 Achievement and Attainment Tables have been included in this analysis.

GCSE

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what percentage of children in care achieved five GCSEs at grades A* to C including English and mathematics but excluding equivalents in each year since 1997.

Diana Johnson: Information on the number of children who achieve five GCSEs at grades A* to C including English and mathematics is not available from the OC2 return, which is the current source of data on the attainment of looked after children. The OC2 return is due to be superseded by a new data source which will be used to monitor the attainment of looked after children from 2010.
	In November the Department published analysis of the new data source as experimental statistics in the release, Bridging Series for Outcomes for Looked After Children: Comparison of Data from Matched Administrative Source with Current Aggregate Source:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/STR/d000894/index.shtml
	Information from the new data source is available from 2006 and is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Key Stage 4 eligibility and performance of children who have been looked after continuously for at least 12 months( 1)  (GCSEs and GNVQs only), Years: 2006 to 2009, Coverage: England 
			   Figures based on matched CLA-NPD data source-Financial Cohort( 2) 
			Children achieving 5+ GCSEs( 5)  at grades A*- C including English and mathematics 
			   Number of children( 3,4)  Number  Percentage 
			 2006 4,900 300 6.1 
			 2007 4,900 320 6.6 
			 2008 5,000 400 8.1 
			 2009 5,000 440 8.9 
			 (1) Children looked after continuously for at least 12 months excluding children in respite care.  (2) Children looked after continuously for at least 12 months at 31 March.  (3) All numbers less than 1,000 are rounded to the nearest 10, otherwise they are rounded to the nearest 100.  (4) Number of children based on those children aged 15 at the start of the academic year i.e. 31 August.  (5) Includes results in GCSEs and GNVQs only, excludes equivalencies. 
		
	
	These figures are experimental statistics and should be treated with caution. They have been released to allow readers to comment on the new data source and methodology before being adopted fully as official statistics.

GCSE: Greater London

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of  (a) key stage 2 pupils reached level 4 in English and mathematics and  (b) GCSE pupils achieved at least five A* to C grades, including English and mathematics in each London local authority area in (i) 1997 and (ii) 2008.

Vernon Coaker: The following table lists the percentage of Key Stage 2 pupils achieving Level 4 or above in English and mathematics, and the percentage of pupils achieving five or more A*-C at GCSE including English and mathematics in 1997 and 2008 for every London local authority.
	
		
			   Percentage of KS2 pupils achieving Level 4 or above in English and mathematics  Percentage of pupils achieving five or more A*-C at GCSE (or equivalent) including English and mathematics GCSEs 
			  Local authority  1997  2008( 1)  1997( 2)  2008( 3) 
			 City of London 73 83 - - 
			 Camden 53 74 35.1 45.8 
			 Hackney 38 65 17.3 42.6 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 49 73 32.5 55.6 
			 Islington 46 70 16.5 38.9 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 56 81 28.0 59.9 
			 Lambeth 42 69 18.6 47.1 
			 Lewisham 44 71 19.4 45.9 
			 Southwark 40 70 17.1 42.7 
			 Tower Hamlets 37 74 15.0 41.2 
			 Wandsworth 50 73 23.2 50.1 
			 Westminster 54 73 22.5 49.7 
			 Haringey 43 66 17.9 42.1 
			 Newham 36 68 23.2 45.3 
			 Greenwich 40 69 19.9 40.4 
			 Barking and Dagenham 41 69 22.0 39.2 
			 Barnet 60 79 42.2 61.1 
			 Bexley 56 76 35.6 51.4 
			 Brent 51 72 30.1 55.8 
			 Bromley 65 77 42.5 59.5 
			 Croydon 52 72 28.4 47.6 
			 Ealing 51 73 28.2 52.1 
			 Enfield 49 75 31.4 48.0 
			 Harrow 60 77 40.0 57.7 
			 Havering 59 78 37.9 55.6 
			 Hillingdon 56 72 30.1 46.4 
			 Hounslow 49 73 31.3 51.8 
			 Kingston upon Thames 62 79 44.7 62.5 
			 Merton 46 73 30.1 46.2 
			 Redbridge 52 76 39.3 63.9 
			 Richmond upon Thames 67 84 36.5 54.0 
			 Sutton 58 77 47.3 67.2 
			 Waltham Forest 45 71 25.0 44.2 
			 (1 )The 2008 KS2 figures are derived from the 2008 Achievement and Attainment Tables (AATs).  (2 )Figures for 1997 relate to 15-year-olds (age at start of academic year, i.e. 31 August) and include GCSE and GNVQ only.  (3 )Figures for 2008 relate to pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 and include both GCSE and QCDA-approved equivalences.

Gifted Children: Kent

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what percentage of pupils at schools in Ashford constituency have participated in the gifted and talented programme in each of the last five years.

Diana Johnson: The Department does not collect data about participation in gifted and talented programmes. Through the School Census, schools are asked to confirm the number of gifted and talented pupils they have identified. The following tables provide data on how many children were identified as gifted and talented in the January census between 2006, when the question was first asked, and 2009.
	2006 records include secondary gifted and talented pupil data only. Otherwise, figures include primary(1) and secondary(1, 2) school data broken down by the number(3) and percentage of gifted and talented pupils.
	
		
			  Maintained primary schools( 1) ,( ) number and percentage( 2)  of gifted and talented pupils( 3, 4) 
			   Ashford 
			   Number  Percentage 
			 2006 n/a n/a 
			 2007 980 10.1 
			 2008 1,170 12.1 
			 2009 1,150 11.8 
		
	
	
		
			  State funded secondary schools( 1,5) , number and percentage of gifted and talented pupils( 2, 3) 
			   Ashford 
			   Number  Percentage 
			 2006 370 5 
			 2007 1,070 14.3 
			 2008 1,280 16.9 
			 2009 1,950 25.6 
			 (1 )Includes middle schools as deemed. (2 )The number of gifted and talented pupils expressed as a percentage of the total number of pupils in the same cohort. (3 )Headcount of pupils. (4 )Excludes dual registrations. (5 )Includes CTCs and academies.

Graham Badman: Public Appointments

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families to what positions his Department and its agencies have  (a) appointed and  (b) re-appointed Graham Badman CBE in the last five years; and what (i) the salary and (ii) duration was of each such appointment.

Diana Johnson: holding answer 30 November 2009
	Graham Badman was appointed as the Chair of Becta with effect from 1 May 2009. From 1 January 2009 to 30 April he served as Acting Chair. He is paid £30,000 per annum for this role and this is accounted for in the annual report of Becta. He had previously been an unpaid member of the board of Becta for the period 1 April 2006 to 31 December 2008.
	Graham Badman is a member of the National Challenge Expert Advisers Panel, which was established in July 2008. This role is not paid and is expected to last until summer 2011.
	He has recently conducted National Challenge Progress Reviews of Gloucestershire LA and Suffolk LA., and also a review of elective home education. This work was undertaken on a contractual basis with Nektus.
	On 1 December 2008 the Secretary of State directed the London borough of Haringey to appoint Graham Badman to chair the Local Safeguarding Children Board, which it did. The Secretary of State did not make any directions about the salary or term of that appointment which is a matter for the London borough of Haringey.

Office for Criminal Justice Reform

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 24 November 2009,  Official Report, column 799W, on Office for Criminal Justice Reform, for what reason data from 1997 to 1999 are currently unavailable in that format.

Dawn Primarolo: Live Police National Computer (PNC) data were first collected in 1995. Between 1997 and 1999 work was ongoing to improve the quality of the data collection in order to bring it to a standard sufficient to support the publication of statistics by local authority.
	The first year those data became available for publication was for 2000-01.

Physical Education: Finance

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much funding his Department and its predecessors have allocated for the encouragement of physical exercise for pupils in schools in  (a) Ashford and  (b) Kent in each of the last five years.

Diana Johnson: In each of the last five years, schools in Ashford and Kent have received funding to deliver the PE and Sport strategy as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			   Ashford  Kent 
			 2005-06 437,130 2,407,938 
			 2006-07 574,481 3,223,291 
			 2007-08 589,714 3,462,081 
			 2008-09 580,159 3,790,037 
			 2009-10 597,669 3,600,875 
			 Total 2,779,153 16,484,222

Playgrounds: Finance

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what funding his Department has allocated for  (a) the construction and renewal of playgrounds and  (b) new adventure playgrounds for eight to 13 year olds in deprived areas supervised by trained staff in (i) 2009-10 and (ii) 2010-11.

Dawn Primarolo: The national Play Strategy, launched in December 2008, set out the Government's commitment to invest £235 million to deliver 3,500 new or refurbished play areas, plus 30 staffed adventure playgrounds, by 2011.
	This funding is allocated to every top tier local authority in England, of which 30 are play pathfinder authorities and the remaining 122 local authorities are Playbuilder authorities. On average every play pathfinder authority will receive around £2 million capital funding and £500,000 revenue funding which is to be used to completely, or substantially, replace old equipment for new or for the building of completely new play areas, with a priority on provision for 8 to 13-year-olds. Play pathfinder authorities will also deliver a new staffed adventure playground. Although these authorities will not receive a separate allocation of funding for the construction of their adventure playground, they have been advised that the construction costs will be around £800,000.
	Playbuilder authorities will receive around £1 million capital and £45,000 revenue funding to deliver a minimum of 22 new or refurbished play areas.
	Decisions on where the capital funding is spent within local authority boundaries are taken locally, based on grant requirements around improved play spaces being provided where they are most needed, especially deprived areas, and based on a robust consultation process with local children and young people, families and wider communities.
	We are encouraging all Members of Parliament to proactively engage with their local play capital programmes as they roll out, and we are asking local authorities to ensure that their local Members of Parliament and council elected members are appropriately consulted, and briefed, about where the capital funding is spent.
	The total amount of capital funding allocated for (i) 2009-10 is £100 million and for (ii) 2010-11 is £75 million.

Pre-School Education

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families with reference to the answer of 12 October 2009,  Official Report, columns 219-20W, on pre-school education, how many Steiner Waldorf settings that have applied for exemption from the Early Years Foundation Stage have received such exemption.

Dawn Primarolo: As of 4 December 2009, 21 Steiner Waldorf settings have applied for exemptions from and/or modifications of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). Of those that have completed the exemptions application process, 12 Steiner Waldorf settings have been granted exemptions and/or modifications from certain parts of the EYFS Learning and Development requirements. Five applications are currently in the process of being assessed and four applications were incomplete and have been closed.

Pre-School Education: Finance

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will estimate the cost of extending the pre-school entitlement for three to five year olds to 48 weeks a year; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: From September 2010 all eligible children will be entitled to 15 hours a week of free provision over no fewer than 38 weeks of the year offered on a more flexible basis to better meet families' needs.
	We are not extending the free entitlement to 48 weeks of the year. However, in Next Steps for Early Learning and Childcare (January 2009) we committed to ensuring that parents will have the choice to stretch the free entitlement over more than 38 weeks, enabling them to take fewer hours per week over more weeks of the year. This will support parents to cover holidays, keep costs constant and help them to budget more consistently. Over 48 weeks, a stretched entitlement would equate to just under 12 hours a week.

Residence Orders: Guardianship

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families in respect of how many children of each year of age special guardianship orders have been made in each year since 2006.

Dawn Primarolo: The number of looked-after children of each year of age who have ceased to be looked after as a result of a special guardianship order in each year ending 31 March 2006 to 2009 can be found in the following table.
	Special guardianship orders were first introduced on 30 December 2005. The figures for year ending 31 March 2006 only account for the last three months of the data collection year.
	
		
			  Table 1: Children who ceased to be looked after during the year ending 31 March by age on ceasing, as a result of a special guardianship order being granted( 1, 2, 3) , year ending 31 March 2009, England 
			  Number 
			   2006( 4)  2007  2008  2009 
			 Age on ceasing (years) 70 750 1,100 1,200 
			  
			 Under 1 10 60 120 110 
			 1 10 130 190 190 
			 2 10 70 120 120 
			 3 - 70 100 100 
			 4 10 60 70 100 
			 5 10 40 70 80 
			 6 - 40 50 70 
			 7 - 50 70 80 
			 8 10 40 60 70 
			 9 - 40 50 50 
			 10 - 30 60 50 
			 11 - 30 40 60 
			 12 - 20 30 40 
			 13 - 20 30 40 
			 14 0 10 30 40 
			 15 - 20 30 20 
			 16 0 10 20 20 
			 17 0 10 10 - 
			 (1) Only the last occasion on which a child ceased to be looked after in the year has been counted. (2) Figures exclude children looked after under an agreed series of short-term placements. (3) To ensure that no individual can be identified from statistical tables, we use conventions for the rounding and suppression of very small numbers. National figures have been rounded to the nearest 100 if they exceed 1,000 or to the nearest 10 otherwise. Numbers of 5 or less have been suppressed and replaced with a long dash (-) except where the number is zero. (4) Special guardianship orders were introduced on 30 December 2005. Consequently figures for year ending 31 March 2006 only account for the last three months of the data collection year.  Source: SSDA 903.

Schools: Admissions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many local education authorities have a percentage of surplus places of at least 10; and if he will make a statement.

Diana Johnson: The Department collects information from each local authority on the number of surplus school places through an annual survey. The most recent data available relate to the position at January 2008.
	The following tables show the number of local authorities with a percentage of surplus places of 10 or above at primary level and those with a percentage of surplus of 10 or above at secondary level.
	
		
			  Primary 
			  LA  Surplus ( percentage ) 
			 Barnsley 10 
			 Bedfordshire 13 
			 Bournemouth 13 
			 Bracknell Forest 10 
			 Brighton and Hove 11 
			 Bristol 11 
			 Bromley 10 
			 Buckinghamshire 11 
			 Calderdale 11 
			 Cambridgeshire 12 
			 Cheshire 13 
			 Cornwall 10 
			 Cumbria 10 
			 Derby City of 13 
			 Derbyshire 13 
			 Doncaster 16 
			 Dorset 15 
			 Dudley 10 
			 Durham 16 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 12 
			 East Sussex 10 
			 Essex 12 
			 Gateshead 13 
			 Gloucestershire 12 
			 Greenwich 12 
			 Hackney 11 
			 Halton 13 
			 Hampshire 11 
			 Harrow 13 
			 Hartlepool 11 
			 Havering 11 
			 Herefordshire 16 
			 Hertfordshire 12 
			 Hillingdon 11 
			 Hounslow 10 
			 Isle of Wight 22 
			 Islington 13 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 10 
			 Kent 10 
			 Kingston upon Hull City of 11 
			 Kirklees 12 
			 Knowsley 22 
			 Lancashire 15 
			 Leeds 11 
			 Leicester City of 10 
			 Leicestershire 12 
			 Lewisham 12 
			 Liverpool 13 
			 Manchester 11 
			 Medway Towns 12 
			 Merton 13 
			 Middlesbrough 18 
			 Milton Keynes 14 
			 Newcastle Upon Tyne 15 
			 Newham 10 
			 Norfolk 14 
			 North East Lincolnshire 15 
			 North Lincolnshire 11 
			 North Tyneside 20 
			 North Yorkshire 18 
			 Northamptonshire 12 
			 Northumberland 19 
			 Nottingham City of 19 
			 Nottinghamshire 13 
			 Oxfordshire 10 
			 Peterborough 11 
			 Plymouth City of 13 
			 Portsmouth 14 
			 Reading 15 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 14 
			 Rochdale 11 
			 Rotherham 11 
			 Rutland 24 
			 Salford 15 
			 Sandwell 13 
			 Sefton 12 
			 Sheffield 12 
			 Shropshire 15 
			 Solihull 12 
			 Somerset 10 
			 South Gloucestershire 13 
			 South Tyneside 19 
			 Southampton 14 
			 Southwark 15 
			 Staffordshire 14 
			 Stockport 10 
			 Stockton on Tees 11 
			 Stoke on Trent 13 
			 Suffolk 18 
			 Sunderland 14 
			 Swindon 11 
			 The Wrekin 12 
			 Thurrock 13 
			 Wakefield 17 
			 Walsall 10 
			 Warrington 14 
			 Warwickshire 12 
			 West Sussex 11 
			 Wiltshire 16 
			 Wirral 14 
			 Wolverhampton 16 
			 Worcestershire 11 
			 York 13 
			 Total LAs 103 
		
	
	
		
			  Secondary 
			  LA  Surplus  (percentage) 
			 Barnet 10 
			 Bracknell Forest 10 
			 Bradford 10 
			 Bristol 21 
			 Croydon 11 
			 Cumbria 10 
			 Doncaster 10 
			 Dorset 10 
			 Durham 14 
			 Gateshead 10 
			 Greenwich 14 
			 Hackney 15 
			 Halton 12 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 17 
			 Hertfordshire 10 
			 Hillingdon 13 
			 Isle of Wight 15 
			 Islington 11 
			 Kingston upon Hull City of 10 
			 Kirklees 10 
			 Knowsley 24 
			 Lancashire 12 
			 Leicester City 10 
			 Lewisham 17 
			 Liverpool 11 
			 Manchester 11 
			 Medway Towns 10 
			 Middlesbrough 14 
			 Milton Keynes 12 
			 Newham 10 
			 North East Lincolnshire 20 
			 North Lincolnshire 12 
			 North Yorkshire 11 
			 Northumberland 15 
			 Nottingham City of 22 
			 Nottinghamshire 10 
			 Oxfordshire 12 
			 Peterborough 11 
			 Portsmouth 11 
			 Reading 16 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 10 
			 Richmond upon Thames 13 
			 Rochdale 13 
			 Rutland 12 
			 Salford 19 
			 Sefton 11 
			 South Gloucestershire 12 
			 Southampton 20 
			 Stockton on Tees 11 
			 Stoke on Trent 14 
			 Suffolk 12 
			 Sunderland 15 
			 Torbay 13 
			 Trafford 10 
			 Wandsworth 11 
			 Wiltshire 11 
			 Wirral 13 
			 Wolverhampton 14 
			 Total LAs 58

Schools: Enfield

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many schools in  (a) Enfield North constituency and  (b) the London borough of Enfield are below the National Challenge Benchmark following 2009 GCSE results.

Vernon Coaker: Individual school results for the 2008-09 academic year are not available until the publication of the Achievement and Attainment Tables in January 2010. In 2008 there were three schools in the London borough of Enfield that had fewer than 30 per cent. of its pupils at the end of Key Stage 4, achieving five or more GCSEs at grades A*-C including English and mathematics, of which one school was in the Enfield North constituency.

Schools: Flooding

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what his most recent estimate is of the number of schools at risk of flooding.

Vernon Coaker: This information is not held by the Department. However, the DCSF is currently undertaking research as part of its departmental adaptation plan (to be published in spring next year) which includes work to map flood risk in schools in collaboration with the Environment Agency.

Schools: Rural Areas

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many rural  (a) primary and  (b) secondary schools have closed in each year since 1997.

Diana Johnson: The following table sets out the number of maintained rural schools that have closed in each year since 2000. We do not have reliable information about decisions made prior to 2000.
	
		
			   Primary  Secondary( 1) 
			 2000 2 - 
			 2001 1 - 
			 2002 5 - 
			 2003 6 1 
			 2004 11 - 
			 2005 10 - 
			 2006 10 - 
			 2007 14 - 
			 2008 14 1 
			 2009 12 - 
			 Total 85 2 
			 (1) Including middle deemed secondary. 
		
	
	The table shows closures where the schools ceased to be maintained and were not replaced. There are other circumstances involving school closure which have been excluded from the table because replacement provision was established, for example, in the case of a change to a school's religious character or an amalgamation of an infant and junior school to form a primary school.

Secondary Education: Per Capita Costs

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the average per student funding was in comprehensive secondary schools of  (a) less than 100,  (b) 100 to 199,  (c) 200 to 299,  (d) 300 to 399,  (e) 400 to 499,  (f) 500 to 599,  (g) 600 to 700 and  (h) over 700 students in (i) rural and (ii) non-rural areas in 2006-07; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The Department collects figures of the levels of per pupil funding allocated to schools by local authorities via the Section 52 Outturn statements. The Section 52 Outturn statements are completed by all local authorities in England and all local authorities have their own individual local funding formulae to delegate education funding to the maintained schools in their area.
	The following table shows the per pupil funding for maintained secondary schools in 2006-07 broken down by size. Please note that figures for opening and closing schools in that financial year have been excluded and that there was only one urban school with fewer than 100 pupils, hence the high per-pupil funding figure.
	
		
			  Total budget share (plus grants)( 1,2)  per pupil( 3)  in secondary schools( 4)  in England with an urban/rural split: 2006-07 cash terms( 5)  figures as reported by local authorities as at 29 October 2009 
			   Number of pupils in school 
			   100  100-199  200-299  300-399  400-499  500-599  600-699  700+ 
			 All secondary schools 11,060 5,360 4,380 4,000 4,050 4,290 4,300 4,080 
			 Rural schools only 4,790 5,260 4,370 3,640 3,800 3,990 3,810 3,860 
			 Urban schools only 22,820 5,490 4,400 4,120 4,170 4,380 4,420 4,110 
			 (1) Budget share plus grants allocated to schools is the combination of the schools individual budget share plus any revenue grants allocated to the school at the start of the financial year. This does not include any capital funding allocated to schools. (2) The amount of money allocated to a school depends very much on the individual local authorities' own policy for funding their schools. Different authorities retain varying amounts of funding centrally to spend on behalf of their schools while others chose to give schools more autonomy over how they spend their money by devolving more funding to the individual school. (3) The pupil numbers used to calculate the per pupil amounts are as reported by the local authority on their Section 52 Budget Statement (Table 2) comprising of the full time equivalent number pupils registered at the school used for the initial determination of the school's budget share under the local authority's allocation formula. (4) Included are all local authority maintained secondary schools who are reported by their LA as being open for the entire final year (schools that are reported as either opening or closing during the financial year have been removed). Figures include any LSC funding and LSC pupils for schools with 6th forms. (5) Figures are rounded to nearest £10. (6) Definition of urban and rural schools in accordance with Rural and Urban Area Classification 2004-further information available at http://www.statistics.gov.uk/geography/nrudp.asp

Secondary Education: Standards

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families with reference to the written ministerial statement of 13 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 61-2WS, on secondary school improvement, what schools are classified as coasting in each local authority; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The Gaining Ground strategy is locally driven. Local authorities were asked to identify schools in their area that might benefit from the support available. Schools were considered for the programme if their attainment was above 30 per cent. A*-C GCSEs including English and maths and their progression between key stage 2 (age 11) and key stage 4 (age 16) was below average with little improvement over at least three years. Local authorities also considered other criteria such as whether the school placed an equal emphasis on progression and attainment.

Special Educational Needs

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many schools for children with emotional, behavioural and social difficulties there are in  (a) England,  (b) Essex and  (c) Castle Point.

Diana Johnson: The requested information is given in the following table.
	
		
			   Total schools 
			  (a) England 1,140 
			  (b) Essex 19 
			  (c) Castle Point 2 
			  Source:  EduBase 2. 
		
	
	The following school types have been included within this answer:
	community, community special, foundation, foundation special, non-maintained special, voluntary aided and voluntary controlled.
	Please note, the schools included in answer  (c) above are also included within answer  (b) above.

Special Educational Needs: Finance

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families from what budgets funding is drawn for  (a) improved special educational needs (SEN) training,  (b) the Achievement for All programme,  (c) further SEN support and  (d) the implementation of the recommendations of the Bercow Review.

Diana Johnson: The funding is drawn from the Special Educational Needs and Disability Division's delegated budget within the Children and Families Directorate in the Department. Department of Health budgets are also supporting the implementation of the Better Communication Action Plan, the Government's response to the Bercow Review.

Special Educational Needs: Young Offenders

David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many posts there were for learning support assistants in  (a) young offender institutions and  (b) secure training centres in England and Wales (i) on the most recent date for which figures are available and (ii) on the same date in each of the last five years; and how many such posts were vacant in each case.

Vernon Coaker: Figures for the number of Learning Support Assistants (LSAs) across the youth justice secure estate are not routinely recorded centrally. However, information from the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) indicates that in September 2009, there were 153 LSC funded LSAs in the 14 public sector Prison Service YOIs in England, and the LSC is not aware of any current vacancies for LSAs in these establishments.
	This information is not collected centrally for the two privately managed YOIs (one of which is in Wales) and the four secure training centres.

Sure Start Programme

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many Sure Start centres are  (a) in operation and  (b) under construction; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many Sure Start children's centres there are in each local authority area;
	(3)  how many new Sure Start centres have been opened in each of the last 24 months; and how many such centres are planned to be opened in each of the next 12 months.

Dawn Primarolo: At the end of October 2009, there were 3,151 designated Sure Start Children's Centres, offering services to over 2.5 million children under five and their families.
	We are on track to achieve our target of at least 3,500 Children's Centres by March 2010. The exact number of Children's Centres under construction or planned to be opened in each of the next 12 months is provisional and subject to change as local authorities work to open their remaining centres, and ensure universal coverage, in discussion with our delivery partner, Together for Children.
	Table 1 gives the number of designated Sure Start Children's Centres in each local authority area as at the end of October 2009. Table 2 shows how many new Sure Start Children's Centres have been opened in each of the last 24 months.
	
		
			  Table 1:  Sure Start Children's Centres in each local authority area as at the end of October 2009 
			  Local authority  Designated Sure Start Children's Centres at October 2009 
			 Barking and Dagenham 15 
			 Barnet 14 
			 Barnsley 19 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 9 
			 Bedford Borough 11 
			 Bexley 13 
			 Birmingham 69 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 13 
			 Blackpool 12 
			 Bolton 15 
			 Bournemouth 7 
			 Bracknell Forest 7 
			 Bradford 33 
			 Brent 15 
			 Brighton and Hove 14 
			 Bristol, City of 26 
			 Bromley 19 
			 Buckinghamshire 33 
			 Bury 11 
			 Calderdale 16 
			 Cambridgeshire 29 
			 Camden 17 
			 Central Bedfordshire 14 
			 Cheshire East 12 
			 Cheshire West and Chester 19 
			 Cornwall 37 
			 Coventry 22 
			 Croydon 20 
			 Cumbria 28 
			 Darlington 6 
			 Derby, City of 14 
			 Derbyshire 48 
			 Devon 37 
			 Doncaster 21 
			 Dorset 20 
			 Dudley 18 
			 Durham 43 
			 Ealing 22 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 17 
			 East Sussex 28 
			 Enfield 21 
			 Essex 64 
			 Gateshead 15 
			 Gloucestershire 32 
			 Greenwich 23 
			 Hackney 19 
			 Halton 12 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 14 
			 Hampshire 60 
			 Haringey 17 
			 Harrow 12 
			 Hartlepool 8 
			 Havering 11 
			 Herefordshire 11 
			 Hertfordshire 57 
			 Hillingdon 12 
			 Hounslow 14 
			 Isle of Wight 7 
			 Isles of Scilly 1 
			 Islington 16 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 8 
			 Kent 72 
			 Kingston upon Hull, City of 19 
			 Kingston upon Thames 7 
			 Kirklees 33 
			 Knowsley 16 
			 Lambeth 27 
			 Lancashire 73 
			 Leeds 51 
			 Leicester, City of 18 
			 Leicestershire 33 
			 Lewisham 17 
			 Lincolnshire 38 
			 Liverpool 24 
			 London, City of 1 
			 Luton 19 
			 Manchester 39 
			 Medway 14 
			 Merton 10 
			 Middlesbrough 12 
			 Milton Keynes 15 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 17 
			 Newham 20 
			 Norfolk 38 
			 North East Lincolnshire 14 
			 North Lincolnshire 12 
			 North Somerset 10 
			 North Tyneside 11 
			 North Yorkshire 36 
			 Northamptonshire 34 
			 Northumberland 24 
			 Nottingham, City of 16 
			 Nottinghamshire 53 
			 Oldham 14 
			 Oxfordshire 33 
			 Peterborough, City of 15 
			 Plymouth, City of 16 
			 Poole 6 
			 Portsmouth 14 
			 Reading 11 
			 Redbridge 14 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 12 
			 Richmond upon Thames 9 
			 Rochdale 15 
			 Rotherham 22 
			 Rutland 1 
			 Salford 15 
			 Sandwell 21 
			 Sefton 16 
			 Sheffield 35 
			 Shropshire 18 
			 Slough 8 
			 Solihull 11 
			 Somerset 33 
			 South Gloucestershire 11 
			 South Tyneside 12 
			 Southampton 11 
			 Southend on Sea 11 
			 Southwark 21 
			 St. Helens 12 
			 Staffordshire 50 
			 Stockport 15 
			 Stockton on Tees 11 
			 Stoke on Trent 15 
			 Suffolk 44 
			 Sunderland 17 
			 Surrey 62 
			 Sutton 13 
			 Swindon 10 
			 Tameside 16 
			 Telford and Wrekin 13 
			 Thurrock 12 
			 Torbay 7 
			 Tower Hamlets 21 
			 Trafford 14 
			 Wakefield 20 
			 Walsall 16 
			 Waltham Forest 17 
			 Wandsworth 23 
			 Warrington 11 
			 Warwickshire 35 
			 West Berkshire 10 
			 West Sussex 37 
			 Westminster, City of 12 
			 Wigan 18 
			 Wiltshire 27 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 7 
			 Wirral 19 
			 Wokingham 7 
			 Wolverhampton 18 
			 Worcestershire 29 
			 York, City of 8 
			 Total 3,151 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Number of new Sure Start Children's Centres opened in each of the last 24 months 
			  Month  Number of Children's Centres opened in the last 24 months 
			 Up to the end of November 2007 1,723 
			 December 2007 158 
			 January 2008 229 
			 February 2008 346 
			 March 2008 441 
			 April 2008 1 
			 May 2008 0 
			 June 2008 1 
			 July 2008 1 
			 August 2008 1 
			 September 2008 4 
			 October 2008 1 
			 November 2008 2 
			 December 2008 2 
			 January 2009 4 
			 February 2009 4 
			 March 2009 93 
			 April 2009 1 
			 May 2009 3 
			 June 2009 18 
			 July 2009 12 
			 August 2009 10 
			 September 2009 50 
			 October 2009 46

Sure Start Programme

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many Sure Start outreach workers there are in each local authority area;
	(2)  what his most recent estimate is of the cost to local authorities of employing Sure Start outreach workers in the last 12 months.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department does not collect information on how many Sure Start outreach workers there are in each local authority area. Staffing levels in children's centres are a matter for local authorities and their partner agencies.
	The Sure Start Early Years and Childcare Grant provides local authorities with funding for children's centres' outreach activities. It is for local authorities to decide how and where to use this resource. The Government's Sure Start Children's Centres: Phase 3 Planning and Delivery document suggests that
	in the most disadvantaged areas teams should include at least three outreach workers per centre. In less disadvantaged areas local authorities will decide on the best approach.
	The guidance can be found at
	www.dcsf.gov.uk/everychildmatters/.

Sure Start Programme

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what operating budget was allocated to Sure Start centres in each of the last three years; and how much he expects to be allocated in each of the next three years.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department does not allocate operating budgets for individual children's centres but gives allocations to allow local authorities to manage the children's centres in their area. The allocations for 2007-08 to 2010-11 are shown in the table.
	
		
			  Sure Start, Early Years and Childcare Grant allocations for children's centres 2007-08 to 2010-11 
			  £ million 
			   Main revenue block  SSLP block  Main capital block 
			   Children's centres  Total main revenue  Sure Start local programmes  Children's centres  Total main capital 
			  Local authority  Revenue  Revenue  Revenue  Capital  Capital 
			 2006-07 310.6 595.4 381.8 n/a 272.3 
			 2007-08 359.1 670.6 318.3 n/a 545.0 
			 2008-09 574.2 975.0 311.0 81.0 301.2 
			 2009-10 748.1 1,120.4 275.0 169.0 383.0 
			 2010-11 883.5 1,297.4 251.7 101.0 315.0 
		
	
	The allocations for Children's centres revenue and capital are included within the wider Sure Start Early Years and Childcare Grant main revenue and main capital funding blocks respectively. Funding in these blocks is not ring-fenced and the authority has the freedom to decide how much to spend on each area supported by the grant, in line with local priorities. The main capital allocation was provided as a single allocation in 2006-07 and 2007-08.

Sure Start Programme

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what the average cost of opening a new Sure Start centre is;
	(2)  how much his Department has spent on opening new Sure Start centres in each of the last 24 months; and how much he expects to be so spent in each of the next 12 months.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department allocates capital and revenue funding for Sure Start Children's Centres and their predecessor Sure Start Local Programmes to local authorities. It is for local authorities to decide how to allocate funding between individual centres.
	The Department collects spend information from local authorities annually and does not differentiate between new and existing centres. The latest year for which audited spend is currently available is 2007-08. The following table contains details of audited spend for 2007-08 and annual allocations for 2008-09, 2009-10 and 20010-11.
	
		
			  £ million 
			 Local authority allocations 
			Audited spend 2007-08  2008-09  2009-10  2010-11 
			 Revenue Sure Start Local Programme 315 311 275 252 
			  Sure Start Children's Centres 315 574 748 883 
			   
			 Capital Sure Start Local Programme 0 0 0 0 
			  Sure Start Children's Centres 288 81 169 101

Teachers: Armed Forces

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many former service personnel have entered the teaching profession through his Department's Career Transition Partnership in each year since its inception.

Vernon Coaker: The requested information is not available in the requested format.
	Since the start of the Ministry of Defence's Career Transition Partnership in 1998, around 280 service leavers have entered the teaching profession.

Teachers: Armed Forces

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many former service personnel have entered the teaching profession in each year for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: The requested information is not routinely collected centrally.

Teachers: Males

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many mainstream maintained  (a) secondary and  (b) primary schools have no male teachers.

Vernon Coaker: In January 2009, there were 4,226 local authority maintained nursery and primary schools and two local authority maintained secondary schools in England that advised that they had no male teachers in their service. The source of this information is the school census.

Teachers: Science

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many  (a) chemistry,  (b) biology and  (c) physics initial teacher training entrants were recruited by the Training and Development Agency for Schools in (i) 2004, (ii) 2006 and (iii) 2008.

Vernon Coaker: The available information about recruitment to college and employment-based initial teacher training (ITT) in science subjects is given in the following table.
	
		
			  Initial teacher training: Recruitment to college and employment-based routes, Years: 2004/05, 2006/07 and 2008/09, Coverage: England 
			   2004/05  2006/07  2008/09 
			  College-based courses
			 Science 2,830 2,990 3,110 
			 Biology n/a 930 1,090 
			 Chemistry n/a 530 800 
			 General sciences n/a 1,180 720 
			 Physics n/a 350 510 
			 
			  Employment-based routes
			 Science 750 610 400 
			 Biology n/a 90 70 
			 Chemistry n/a 70 50 
			 General sciences n/a 410 230 
			 Physics n/a 50 50 
			 
			  Total
			 Science 3,580 3,600 3,510 
			 Biology n/a 1,020 1,160 
			 Chemistry n/a 600 850 
			 General sciences n/a 1,590 950 
			 Physics n/a 400 550 
			 n/a = not available.   Notes:  1. Recruitment figures for 2008/09 were provisional and subject to change. College-based recruitment for 2008/09 includes actual registrations and forecast trainees who are expected to enter ITT during the academic year. Employment-based recruitment figures for 2008/09 were for the autumn term only. A further 160 trainees were expected to start on employment-based route courses in Science during the academic year 2008/09. Vocational subjects such as applied science are excluded from the table.  2. College-based ITT recruitment includes universities, other higher education institutions, school centred ITT (SCITT) and Open University. In 2004/05 college-based ITT recruitment included 310 secondary trainees on the Fast Track programme. The Fast Track programme ended in 2005/06.  3. Employment-based ITT recruitment includes Teach First. The first year of the Teach First programme was 2003/04.  4. Recruitment numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. Total may not sum due to rounding.   Source:  TDA's ITT Trainee Numbers Census and Employment-Based Database.

Teachers: Training

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many agreements with initial teacher training providers  (a) the Training and Development Agency for Schools and its predecessors and  (b) his Department and its predecessors have discontinued on quality grounds since 1997.

Vernon Coaker: The Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) is given the power by statute to accredit initial teacher training (ITT) providers, and in doing so it is required to have regard to the quality of providers' courses when allocating training places and funding.
	The available information is provided in the table. Accreditation records are available from 1999/2000 onwards. Where accreditation has been withdrawn it has been on the grounds of non-compliance with criteria set out by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State in the Professional Standards for qualified teacher status and Requirements for ITT together with regard for the quality of provision offered.
	
		
			  Number of ITT providers where accreditation has been withdrawn. Years: 1999/2000 to 2006/07. Coverage: England 
			   Number of ITT providers 
			 1999/2000 0 
			 2000/01 2 
			 2001/02 2 
			 2002/03 6 
			 2003/04 5 
			 2004/05 2 
			 2005/06 1 
			 2006/07 0 
			 Total 18 
		
	
	In 17 other instances over this period, accreditation procedures were begun but not completed, either because the provider concerned improved sufficiently during the process or withdrew the provision voluntarily.

Teachers: Training

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether formal training in recognising and dealing with all forms of bullying is offered to all trainee teachers in each of the teacher training routes.

Vernon Coaker: All trainee teachers on initial teacher training routes to qualified teacher status must demonstrate that they have met the standards before they can be recommended for the award. These include standards relating to discipline and behaviour management, including bullying in all of its forms, and those relating to the safeguarding and well-being of children and young people. The standards, along with extensive guidance for trainers and trainees, are available at:
	www.tda.gov.uk/qts

Written Questions: Government Responses

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families when he will respond to question 301338, tabled by the hon. Member for South-West Bedfordshire on 19 November 2009, on departmental working practices.

Diana Johnson: The Department has responded to the hon. Member today.

Young Offenders

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many referral orders relating to children aged  (a) 10 or 11,  (b) 12 to 14 and  (c) 15 to 17 years old have been (i) issued and (ii) breached in each year since 1997.

Dawn Primarolo: The information is as follows:
	(i) The following table shows the number of referral orders that have been given to young people by courts.
	The presented data are broken down by financial years and by the following age groups:  (a) 10 and 11,  (b) 12 to 14 and  (c) 15 to 17 years old.
	(ii) Referral orders are orders of the court and are not breached as other community orders. The YJB does not hold the data on orders that have been revoked after being returned back to the court following non compliance with referral order contract. Referral orders were piloted in some areas between 1999/2000 and 2001/02 and became available in England and Wales in April 2002.
	Complete data prior to financial year 2000/01 are not held by the Youth Justice Board.
	
		
			   Referral orders 
			   10-11  12-14  15-17  Total 
			 2000-01 25 360 903 1,288 
			 2001-02 52 611 1,582 2,245 
			 2002-03 628 7,096 19,632 27,356 
			 2003-04 541 7,569 19,173 27,283 
			 2004-05 583 7,845 17,705 26,133 
			 2005-06 586 8,439 19,369 28,394 
			 2006-07 545 8,509 19,668 28,722 
			 2007-08 523 8,315 19,637 28,475 
		
	
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which as with any large recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing and may be subject to change over time.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Departmental Plants

Grant Shapps: To ask the Leader of the House how much her Office spent on  (a) cut flowers and  (b) pot plants in 2008-09.

Barbara Keeley: The Office of the Leader of the House of Commons spent £1,862.76 on the provision of plants and flowers during the 2008-09 financial year.
	A decision was taken some time ago to terminate the contract for plants and flowers. The contract has been terminated.

PRIME MINISTER

Chequers

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Prime Minister which special advisers have been admitted to  (a) the grounds and  (b) the premises of Chequers on occasions when the Prime Minister (i) was and (ii) was not present in each year since 2006; what the dates of each such admission were; and on how many such occasions special advisers were admitted to Chequers and did not receive official hospitality.

Gordon Brown: I refer you to my answer of 2 December 2009,  Official Report, column 760W. As has been the case under successive Administrations, Chequers can be used for meetings and hospitality.

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  what discussions he had in the margins of the recent Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting on Trinidad and Tobago with Prime Ministers of those Commonwealth countries where Her Majesty is Head of State on amending legislation in such countries relating to  (a) the religious faith of the head of state,  (b) the primogeniture rule in the matter of succession,  (c) abdication,  (d) morganatic marriage in respect of the Royal Family and  (e) regency legislation; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what matters relating to the Statute of Westminster 1931 he discussed with the Prime Minister of  (a) Canada,  (b) Australia and  (c) New Zealand in the margins of the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Trinidad and Tobago in 2009; and if he will make a statement.

Gordon Brown: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 25 November 2009,  Official Report, column 532.

Foreign Relations: Spain

David Gauke: To ask the Prime Minister what discussions he has had with his Spanish counterpart on admitting Spain as a full member of the G20.

Gordon Brown: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 9 December 2009, Official Report, column 347.

Members: Allowances

Dai Davies: To ask the Prime Minister for what reasons legislation to implement the recommendations of the Committee on Standards in Public Life on hon. Members' expenses and allowances was not included in the Government's legislative programme announced in the Queen's Speech.

Gordon Brown: I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement made by my right hon. and learned Friend the Leader of the House on 10 December 2009,  Official Report, column 33WS.

Parliamentary Private Secretaries

Nick Hurd: To ask the Prime Minister with reference to his answer to the right hon. Member for Horsham of 18 June 2009,  Official Report, column 454W, on parliamentary private secretaries, when he expects an up-to-date list of parliamentary private secretaries to be published.

Gordon Brown: Details of parliamentary private secretaries are available in Vacher's.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Student Visas

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the system for processing student visa applications.

John Howell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the system for processing student visa applications.

Phil Woolas: We implemented Tier 4 of the points based system on 31 March 2009, replacing the previous arrangements for overseas students to come and study in the UK. This ensures that only those colleges and schools who provide quality education and take responsibility for their students are licensed to bring in international students. We continuously monitor our systems and where improvements can be made we will make them. The Prime Minister recently announced a review of certain elements of Tier 4 and we are studying the recommendations.

Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to appoint a Chair of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs.

Alan Johnson: I met with the ACMD on 10 November and outlined the process for the appointment of a new chair. My officials are currently pursuing options for appointing the new Chair with the Office for the Commissioner of Public Appointments and with the ACMD. Following these discussions I will be able to confirm timings.

Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reasons the minutes of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs meeting in November 2008 are not available.

Alan Campbell: The minutes of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs meeting held on 25 November 2008 are published on the ACMD website, available at:
	http://drugs.homeoffice.gov.uk/drugs-laws/acmd/

Animal Testing

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many procedures were approved under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 in  (a) 2007 and  (b) 2008.

Meg Hillier: Under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, projects are authorised containing protocols comprising one or more regulated procedures. No records are kept of the number of protocols or procedures authorised. However, in 2007 and 2008, there were 3,375 and 2,652 project licences in force at 31 December, respectively.

Violent Crime: Lincolnshire

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the incidence of violent crime in Lancashire over the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Alan Campbell: Violence against the person offences in Lancashire fell by 7 per cent. between 2007-08 and 2008-09.

Anti-Semitism

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether legal provisions are in place to prevent  (a) the preaching of hatred and  (b) incitement to commit criminal acts against the Jewish community in England and Wales; what plans he has to increase protection to the Jewish community; and if he will make a statement. [R]

Alan Campbell: Under the Public Order Act 1986, part III Incitement to Racial Hatred, it is an offence to commit an act that is threatening, abusive or insulting and which is intended or likely in all the circumstances to stir up racial hatred.
	As part of its work to reduce the vulnerability of crowded places to terrorist attack, police counter-terrorist security advisers have identified higher risk crowded places and work is in hand with a range of partners that aims to reduce their vulnerabilities. Additionally, the National Counter Terrorism Security Office has recently published protective security guidance for all places of worship, including synagogues. Third sector organisations such as the Community Security Trust should contact their local authority and local police if they have any specific local concerns. We have also recently published a Cross-Government Hate Crime Action Plan to tackle all forms of hate crime, including anti-Semitism.

Asylum: Democratic Republic of Congo

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 25 November 2009,  Official Report, column 206W, on asylum: Democratic Republic of Congo, how many investigations arising from specific allegations have taken place in each of the last four years.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 1 December 2009
	Since December 2006, UKBA has undertaken three investigations arising from allegations about the treatment of returned failed asylum seekers to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Asylum: Scotland

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers were supported in accommodation in each parliamentary constituency in Scotland on the latest date for which figures are available.

Phil Woolas: The following table shows the number of asylum seekers who were supported in accommodation, in Scotland by parliamentary constituency, as at end of September 2009. These figures exclude unaccompanied asylum-seeking children supported by local authorities and those in initial accommodation.
	The breakdown of immigration statistics by parliamentary constituency is available from the Library of the House. Information on asylum is published annually and quarterly. Annual statistics for 2008 and the latest statistics for Q3 2009 are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html
	
		
			  Asylum seekers supported in accommodation( 1, 2, 3) , in Scotland by parliamentary constituency, as at end of September 2009 
			  Parliamentary constituency name( 4)  Number 
			 Edinburgh North and Leith * 
			 Glasgow Central 275 
			 Glasgow East 245 
			 Glasgow North 140 
			 Glasgow North East 1,055 
			 Glasgow North West 400 
			 Glasgow South 195 
			 Glasgow South West 340 
			 Scotland total 2,650 
			 (1) Provisional figures rounded to the nearest 5 with * = 1 or 2. Figures may not sum to the totals shown because of independent rounding. (2) Excludes unaccompanied asylum-seeking children supported by local authorities, estimated as less than 50 in Scotland in September 2009. (3) Excludes those in initial accommodation, 75 in Scotland as at the end of September 2009. (4) Only those parliamentary constituencies where dispersed cases are resident are shown.

Capita

Don Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether any contracts between Capita Group plc and his Department have been cancelled before completion since 1997; and whether Capita Group plc has been liable for any penalties arising from failings in the administration of contracts since 1997.

Phil Woolas: A search of records for instances since 1997 where contracts between Capita Group plc or its subsidiaries and the Home Department have been cancelled would incur disproportionate cost. However, from best available records within the last five years no contract has been cancelled before completion. Capita Business Services provides the Criminal Records Bureau's disclosure processing service under a public-private partnership agreement. Contract schedules set out service levels and the service credits that apply should Capita Business Services fail to meet the agreed service levels. Liquidated damages are charged in the event of late delivery to agreed changes in the service. From 2001-02, the values of service credits and liquidated damages received from Capita Business Services are:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2001-02 555,000 
			 2002-03 1,718,000 
			 2003-04 1,528,000 
			 2004-05 53,000 
			 2005-06 92,000 
			 2006-07 168,000 
			 2007-08 0 
			 2008-09 0

Christmas

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies have spent on Christmas (i) cards, (ii) parties and (iii) decorations in the last 12 months.

Phil Woolas: To date, the Department has not paid for any Christmas cards.
	No official funds are used for Christmas parties.
	Christmas decorations are donated by Ecovert FM, the Department's facilities management services provider.
	Information concerning the cost of cards and decorations to UK Border Agency, Identity and Passport Service, and Criminal Records Bureau cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.
	All Home Office expenditure on rewards and recognition, including staff entertainment, conforms to the principles of regularity, propriety and value for money, and any other guidance as applicable contained within Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety.

Crimes of Violence: Females

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to his Department's Together we can end violence against women and girls strategy, how much his Department plans to spend on  (a) launching an award scheme to celebrate the achievements of local areas delivering excellence,  (b) funding the POPPY project and  (c) funding National Offender Management Service perpetrator programmes in (i) 2009-10, (ii) 2010-11 and (iii) each of the subsequent three years; and from what budgets such funding will be drawn.

Alan Campbell: The cross-Government strategy 'Together We Can End Violence Against Women and Girls' was launched on 25 November 2009.
	 (a) The departmental spend on an award scheme for local areas delivering excellence in their response to violence against women and girls will be finalised in spring 2010 by a cross-departmental delivery board. The board will have oversight of all actions in the strategy.
	 (b) Across Government, we have invested £5.8 million in the POPPY project over the last six years to provide high-level specialist support for victims trafficked into sexual exploitation. A further £3.7 million investment will be made in the period 2009-10 to 2010-11 to the POPPY project for specialist victim services for victims of sexual exploitation and domestic servitude.
	 (c) Probation boards fund the cost of delivering accredited perpetrator programmes including for domestic and sexual violence perpetrators through their main grant, and funding for the delivery of accredited offending behaviour programmes in custody is built into prison baselines.

Departmental Assets

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assets of his Department are planned to be sold in each year from 2009-10 to 2013-14; what the  (a) description and  (b) book value of each such asset is; what the expected revenue from each such sale is; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: My Department rents rather than owns most of its estate and so is focusing more on limiting and where possible reducing its rent liabilities. There is currently one asset for sale. This is the former Official Residence at 62 South Eaton Place whose current book value is £1.7 million. The indicated guide price is £4 million.

Departmental ICT

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Putney of 3 November 2009,  Official Report, column 856W, on IT systems, 
	(1)  on what projects under what budget headings the £86 million on the Next Generation IST Transformation Programme will be spent; and what timetable has been set for that expenditure.
	(2)  on what projects under what budget headings the £3.12 million on the Next Generation IST Transformation Programme has been spent.

Alan Johnson: Since answering the question from the hon. Member for Putney (Justine Greening)  Official Report, columns 852-56W, on IT systems, I would refer the hon. Member to the answer given to a previous question from the hon. Member for Hornchurch (James Brokenshire) on 12 November 2009,  Official Report, columns 935-36W.

Departmental Information Officers

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many full-time equivalent press officers  (a) are employed by and  (b) work for his Department.

Phil Woolas: As of 30 November 2009, the total number of full-time equivalent press officers employed by the Department is 51.89 full-time equivalents. This includes 14 who are employed (by UKBA) regionally, who undertake work for UKBA which includes tasks which transferred through machinery of government changes from HMRC.

Departmental Manpower

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff of his Department were in its redeployment pool on 1  (a) January,  (b) April,  (c) July and  (d) October 2009.

Phil Woolas: The number of staff within the Home Office and its agencies that were in a redeployment network on 1  (a) January  (b) April  (c) July and  (d) October 2009 is shown in table 1.
	Staff that are in a redeployment network continue to undertake work for the Department while a new post is actively sought, either within the Home Office and its agencies, or in another Government Department.
	
		
			  Table 1: Home Office staff in a  redeployment network 
			  2009  Number of staff  Percentage of total Home Office work force 
			 1 January 40 0.16 
			 1 April 37 0.14 
			 1 July 65 0.25 
			 1 October 53 0.20

Departmental Pay

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was claimed in reimbursable expenses by press officers in his Department in each of the last three financial years.

Phil Woolas: Our systems do not collate the press office travel and subsistence budget to distinguish between reimbursable expenses and other costs.

Departmental Pay

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was claimed in reimbursable expenses by press officers in his Department in 2008-09.

Phil Woolas: I am unable to answer the question as our systems do not collate the press office travel and subsistence budget to distinguish between reimbursable expenses and other costs.

Departmental Research

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research his Department has commissioned on public attitudes to migrant populations in the last five years.

Phil Woolas: The UK Border Agency does not conduct research into public attitudes specifically to migrant populations. Details of the results on Home Office and UK Border Agency polling on public attitudes to immigration are, however, available on the respective public websites.

Departmental Security

Angela Browning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what security requirements are made by his Department in respect of  (a) people employed to provide audio transcription services to his Department from home,  (b) the premises in which work to provide such services is carried out and  (c) arrangements for the transfer of data between such premises and his Department.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 30 November 2009
	The Department does not currently have in place contracts for the provision of home-working-based audio transcription services.

Departmental Written Questions

John Mason: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many questions tabled for answer on a named day his Department received in each of the last 12 months; and to how many such questions his Department provided a substantive answer on the day named.

Alan Campbell: 887 parliamentary questions for named day response were tabled to the Home Office between 1 December 2008 and 30 November 2009. 133 of these questions received a substantive answer on the day named. The following table shows the months in which these questions were tabled. Central guidance on answering parliamentary questions is now available in the Guide to Parliamentary Work, at:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/parliamentary-clerk-guide.aspx
	In the response to the Procedure Committee Report on written parliamentary questions, the Government accepted the Committee's recommendation that Departments be required to provide the Procedure Committee with sessional statistics in a standard format on the time taken to respond to written parliamentary questions, accompanied by an explanatory memorandum setting out any factors affecting their performance. This will be taken forward as soon as possible.
	
		
			  Written parliamentary questions tabled for named day response, December 2008 to November 2009 
			  Month in which question was tabled  Number of questions  Number responded to on the named day 
			  2008   
			 December 99 12 
			
			  2009   
			 January 93 16 
			 February 68 17 
			 March 104 14 
			 April 77 6 
			 May 57 9 
			 June 81 11 
			 July 76 14 
			 August 0 0 
			 September 82 2 
			 October 73 18 
			 November 77 14 
			 Total 887 133

Detention Centres: Children

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether Ministers in his Department have signed authorisations for the continued detention of children at immigration removal centres beyond 28 days which provide for the detention of children during Christmas 2009.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 10 December 2009
	No authorisations have been signed which allow for the continued detention of children beyond 28 days which provided for the detention of children during Christmas 2009.

Detention Centres: Children

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the UK Border Agency has made any arrangements in respect of children detained at immigration removal centres during Christmas 2009.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 10 December 2009
	We would prefer not to detain families with children and would rather that they left the UK voluntarily where the Courts have upheld a decision of the UK Border Agency that they must leave the country. However, where they fail to leave after having been given every opportunity and incentive to do so, the Agency has no other option but to detain them to enforce their departure. We believe that it is in the children's best interests to remain with their parents and they are therefore detained as a family group just a few days before their flight. However, detention is sometimes prolonged because of last minute applications to the Court as an attempt to frustrate their removal.

Detention Centres: Families

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many families he expects to be detained at immigration removal centres during Christmas 2009.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 10 December 2009
	We do not have an estimate of the number of families expected to be detained in immigration removal centres during Christmas 2009.

Detention Centres: Manpower

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) male and  (b) female staff are employed at each immigration removal centre.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 7 December 2009
	There are 10 immigration removal centres in England and one centre, Dungavel House, in Scotland. Eight of the centres are operated under contracts with the private sector. Three centres, Dover, Haslar and Lindholme, are operated under agreements with the National Offender Management Service.
	The number of male and female staff employed at each centre is detailed in the following table. The numbers refer to those staff directly employed by the centre operator. The data are normally used for management information only and are not subject to the detailed checks that apply for National Statistics publications. The information is provisional and subject to change.
	
		
			  Immigration Removal Centre  Male employees  Female employees 
			 Brook House 129 46 
			 Campsfield House 81 33 
			 Colnbrook 212 128 
			 Dover 175 72 
			 Dungavel House 53 70 
			 Haslar 73 25 
			 Harmondsworth 145 45 
			 Lindholme 29 12 
			 Oakington 128 94 
			 Tinsley House 64 29 
			 Yarl's Wood 106 117

Entry Clearances

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 3 December 2009,  Official Report, columns 888-9W, on entry clearances, whether the net value of revenue accrued in respect of applications is retained by the UK Border Agency.

Phil Woolas: All income from entry clearance is retained by the UK Border Agency. The income received does not cover the full cost of processing this type of application and therefore no net revenue accrues to the Agency.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were granted student visas in the last  (a) 12 months and  (b) five years.

Phil Woolas: In the 12-month period October 2008 to September 2009, a total of 269,900 visas were issued in the student category.
	In the five years from October 2004 to September 2009, a total of 1,184,946 visas were issued in the student category, including 104,596 visas issued to dependents.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many student visas were granted to people from each non-EU country in the last five years.

Phil Woolas: The information requested has been placed in the House Library. The enclosed table shows the number of student visas and student dependent visas issued to each non-EU nationality in the five year period from October 2004 to September 2009.

Entry Clearances: Pakistan

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many appeals there were against the refusal of an application for a visit visa from a Pakistani national in each year between 2004 and 2008; what the cost to the public purse was of such appeals; and how many such appeals resulted in an application being granted.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 7 December 2009
	Only family visits carry full rights of appeal. The information requested is in the following table:
	
		
			   Family visit visa refusals  Appeals  Allowed appeals 
			 2004 7,256 8,090 3,556 
			 2005 26,359 14,495 5,026 
			 2006 29,197 23,348 7,315 
			 2007 31,903 27,740 9,386 
			 2008 24,076 26,379 10,540 
			  Notes: 1. These data are unpublished and should be treated as provisional. 2. There is only a full right of appeal against the refusal of family visit visas.

Heads of Government

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of former foreign Heads of Government who are resident in the UK; and whether any cost arising from their residence is borne by the public purse.

Phil Woolas: No information is held on former foreign Heads of Government who may be resident in the UK.

Identity and Passport Service: Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Identity and Passport Service has made any payments to  (a) political consultancies,  (b) external public relations firms and  (c) public affairs firms since its establishment.

Meg Hillier: Since its establishment, the Identity and Passport Service has made payments to one public relations company who were engaged to work on passport campaigns. This contract expired in 2008 and has not been renewed. IPS has not made any payments to political consultancies or public affairs companies.

Immigrants: Detainees

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) male and  (b) female detainees are held at each immigration removal centre.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 7 December 2009
	The following table is consistent with the latest published statistics on the number of persons detained in immigration removal centres in the United Kingdom solely under Immigration Act powers, by place of detention and sex as at 30 September 2009.
	Published statistics on immigration and asylum are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html
	
		
			  Persons in detention in the United Kingdom solely under Immigration Act powers, by place of detention and sex as at 30 September 2009( 1, 2) 
			  Number of persons 
			  Place of detention  Total detainees  Male  Female 
			  UK Border Agency Removal Centres
			 Brook House 400 400 - 
			 Oakington Reception Centre 395 395 - 
			 Yarl's Wood 325 25 300 
			 Dover Immigration Removal Centre 310 310 - 
			 Colnbrook Immigration Removal Centre 285 285 - 
			 Harmondsworth 250 250 - 
			 Dungavel 205 190 15 
			 Campsfield House 200 200 - 
			 Haslar 150 150 - 
			 Tinsley House 125 115 10 
			 Lindholme 120 120  - 
			 
			  UK Border Agency Short Term Holding Facilities
			 Colnbrook Short Term 55 55 - 
			 Dover Harbour 35 30 5 
			 Pennine House 20 15 5 
			 Harwich 5 5 - 
			 Grand total 2,885 2,550 335 
			 (1 )Figures rounded to the nearest 5 (- = 0, * = 1 or 2), may not sum to the totals shown because of independent rounding and exclude persons detained in police cells, Prison Service establishments and those detained under both criminal and immigration powers. (2 )Figures include dependants.

Immigrants: Finance

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost of the Regional Strategic Migration Partnership was in each region in each year since such partnerships have operated; and what estimate he has made of such costs in 2009-10.

Phil Woolas: The funding for the Regional Strategic Migration Partnership for each region between 2007 and 2010 is set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Area  2007- 0 8  2008- 0 9  2009-10 
			 East of England Up to £100,000 payable in two instalments of up to £47,000 and up to £53,000 Up to £110,000 payable in two instalments of up to £55,000 As per 2008-09 
			 East Midlands Up to £120,000 payable in two instalments of up to £57,000 and up to £63,000 Up to £130,000 payable in two instalments of up to £65,000 As per 2008-09 
			 London(1) Up to £140,000 payable in two instalments of up to £65,000 and up to £75,000 Up to £170,000 payable in two instalments of up to £85,000 As per 2008-09 
			 North East Up to £135,000 payable in two instalments of up to £65,000 and up to £70,000 Up to £150,000 payable in two instalments of up to £75,000 As per 2008-09 
			 North West Up to £155,000 payable in two instalments of up to £75,000 and up to £80,000 Up to £170,000 payable in two instalments of up to £85,000 As per 2008-09 
			 Scotland Up to £135,000 payable in two instalments of up to £65,000 and up to £70,000 Up to £150,000 payable in two instalments of up to £75,000 As per 2008-09 
			 South East Up to £105,000 payable in two instalments of up to £50,000 and up to £55,000 Up to £110,000 payable in two instalments of up to £55,000 As per 2008-09 
			 South West Up to £100,000 payable in two instalments of up to £47,000 and up to £53,000 Up to £110,000 payable in two instalments of up to £55,000 As per 2008-09 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside Up to £155,000 payable in two instalments of up to £75,000 and up to £80,000 Up to £170,000 payable in two instalments of up to £85,000 As per 2008-09 
			 Wales Up to £115,000 payable in two instalments of up to £55,000 and up to £60,000 Up to £130,000 payable in two instalments of up to £65,000 As per 2008-09 
			 West Midlands Up to £155,000 payable in two instalments of up to £75,000 and up to £80,000 Up to £170,000 payable in two instalments of up to £85,000 As per 2008-09 
			 (1) The enabling grant with the London Regional Strategic Migration Partnership for 2008-09 was deferred by mutual agreement. The first instalment of the grant, as set out above, payable from 1 April 2008, was made on 1 October 2008. In practice this reduced the grant available for the 2008-09 financial year to £85,000. The amount and timing of the grant payable in respect of the 2009-10 financial year remained as previously agreed; and a further payment of £85,000 is to be paid on or after 1 April 2010. 
		
	
	We are unable to provide details of the specific enabling grant prior to 2007. Data could be provided only at disproportionate cost to the agency.

Immigration

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what proportion of applications for a residence card as the spouse of an EEA national remained outstanding six months after the application was made in each quarter since 2007.

Phil Woolas: This information is not available as the UK Border Agency's Case Information Database records all family members of EEA nationals who apply for residence cards in one category (EEA2).

Immigration Controls

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the answer of 12 November 2009,  Official Report, column 948W, on immigration controls, for what reasons the verification service's management information system was not operating in February, March and April 2009; and what the operational cost of that service has been since November 2008.

Alan Johnson: The verification service did not operate in February and March because of necessary work to upgrade its security. The service resumed in April. The set up costs associated with the implementation of the IT infrastructure used by Teleperformance for these services was £165,123. Information about costs of the service is commercially sensitive and cannot be disclosed.

Immigration Controls

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which colleges have had their licences to sponsor students under Tier 4 of the points-based immigration system  (a) revoked and  (b) suspended.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 8 December 2009
	14 colleges have had their Tier 4 sponsor licences revoked and 35 have had their sponsor licences suspended.
	We cannot release specific details of the colleges suspended or revoked as this information is commercially sensitive.

Immigration Controls

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell (Chris Grayling) of 5 November 2009,  Official Report, columns 1139-40W, on immigration controls, what action has been taken in respect of the 280 students whose sponsor under Tier 4 had had their licence revoked or suspended up to 16 October 2009.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 8 December 2009
	The information requested could be obtained only by examination of individual case records.
	In general terms, students studying at a college whose licence has been suspended, and not revoked, may continue their studies at that college providing they have valid leave. Students whose leave is about to expire must, as part of an application for leave to remain as a student, show that they are enrolled on a course of study at a college which is on the register of Tier 4 sponsors.
	Students studying at a college whose licence has been revoked will have their leave curtailed and are given 60 days to enrol at a college which is on the register of Tier 4 sponsors. If they fail to do so they are expected to leave the country.

Immigration Controls

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 25 November 2009,  Official Report, column 213W, on overseas students, when he expects the review of approval criteria to be completed; who is leading the review; and whether external organisations have been consulted as part of the review.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 8 December 2009
	I expect the review of approval criteria to be completed within the next 12 weeks. The UK Border Agency is leading on the review of the framework, working with Ofsted, and also taking comments from each of the currently approved accreditation bodies.

Independent Police Complaints Commission

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what the turnover rate of staff of each grade employed by the Independent Police Complaints Commission was in the last six months;
	(2)  how many employees of each  (a) sex and  (b) age (i) entered and (ii) left employment of the Independent Police Complaints Commission in each of the last six months.

David Hanson: The Home Office does not hold this information. These are matters for the IPCC and they will write to the hon. Member direct.

Members: Correspondence

Clare Short: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Ladywood's letter of 28 July 2009 on the case of Rochelle Riley, reference B27707/9.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 1 December 2009
	In response to the letter of 28 July 2009, the Deputy Director for Economic and Family Migration in the London and South East Region wrote to my right hon. Friend on 27 November 2009.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to reply to the letter of 15 October 2009 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr M. Jilani.

Alan Johnson: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 8 December 2009.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to reply to the letter of 5 October 2009 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mrs. Gul Bano.

Alan Johnson: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 9 December 2009.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he plans to reply to the letter of 22 October 2009 from the right hon. Member for Manchester Gorton on Mr. Khalid Iqbal Choudhry.

Alan Johnson: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 8 December 2009.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he plans to reply to the letter of 21 October 2009 from the right hon. Member for Manchester Gorton on Ms. S Saeed.

Alan Johnson: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 2 December 2009.

Offenders

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prolific and priority offenders are targeted by police in  (a) North Northamptonshire Basic Command Unit,  (b) Northamptonshire and  (c) England.

David Hanson: Two prolific and other priority offender schemes, Corby and Wellingborough, cover the four Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships in the North Northamptonshire Basic Command Unit area. The most recent performance management data show that, as at June 2009, there were 66 prolific and other priority offenders in Corby and 54 in Wellingborough. The data show that there were 250 prolific and other priority offenders in Northamptonshire and 10,687 across England.

Police Community Support Officers: North Yorkshire

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what budget he has allocated for pump-priming the provision of community support officers in North Yorkshire in the next 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: Neighbourhood policing is central to improving public confidence that the police and local council are dealing with the crime and antisocial behaviour issues that matter in their area. Public confidence has increased from 45 per cent. in March 2008 to 50 per cent. in June 2009. Since 2002 we have invested heavily to ensure that there is now a Neighbourhood Policing team in every neighbourhood, including in total more than 13,500 warranted officers and 16,000 police community support officers (PCSOs).
	During 2009-2010 we are providing £3.33 million to North Yorkshire Police Authority to help maintain 183 PCSOs. We will increase this provision by 2.7 per cent. to £3.42 million in 2010-11.

Police: Essex

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the costs of providing policing in Essex were in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: Total gross revenue expenditure by Essex police in the last three years was as follows:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2006-07 306.1 
			 2007-08 308.7 
			 2008-09 324.7 
		
	
	The Government provide annual grant to police authorities and it is for the Chief Constable and police authorities to make the best possible use of their resources.
	In 2009-10 the general grant provided to Essex was £177.9 million. This was above the minimum 2.5 per cent. increase guaranteed to all forces. In 2010-11 the provisional settlement gives Essex police an increase of 2.9 per cent. in general grants.

Police: Essex

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many officers of each rank in Essex police have voluntarily ceased employment, excluding redundancy, since April 2009; [R]
	(2)  how many officials of each grade have voluntarily ceased employment, other than through redundancy, in Essex police authority since April 2009. [R]

David Hanson: Data since April 2009 are unavailable until headline figures are published in July 2010. The available data for the financial year 2008-09 are given in the following table.
	The Home Office does not collect data about officials of the police authority.
	
		
			  Voluntary resignations and transfers for Essex police,  2008-09( 1) 
			  Full-time equivalent 
			  Rank  Transfers  Voluntary resignations (including probationers) 
			 ACPO 1 0 
			 Chief Superintendent 0 0 
			 Superintendent 0 0 
			 Chief Inspector 1 0 
			 Inspector 1 1 
			 Sergeant 13 1 
			 Constable 72 51 
			 Total Officers 88 53 
			
			 Police Staff 0 138 
			 CSO 2 36 
			 Designated officers (s38) 0 3 
			 Traffic Warden 0 2 
			 Special Constable(2) 1 135 
			 (1) Full-time equivalent figures provided that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items. (2) Special constable figures are given as headcount measures.

Police: Essex

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many officers at each rank were eligible for performance bonuses and special bonuses in Essex police in each of the last three years; how many at each rank received each type of bonus; what the average payment was for each type of bonus at each rank; and what the maximum payment was for each type of bonus at each rank;
	(2)  how many officials were eligible for performance bonuses and special bonuses in Essex police authority, by civil service band in each of the last three years; how many people received each type of bonus, by civil service band, what the average payment was for each type of bonus, by civil service band; and what the maximum payment was for each type of bonus, by civil service band.

David Hanson: The Home Office does not hold information on officials eligible for performance bonuses and special bonuses in Essex police authority or in Essex police. The payment of individual bonuses is a matter for the Essex police authority and Essex police.

Population

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Government have a policy on future population  (a) growth and  (b) size in the UK.

Phil Woolas: The Government do not have a policy on the UK future population growth or size, but we do have a migration policy. The new immigration system and the points-based system give us greater control over numbers while maintaining the flexibility our economy needs.
	Net migration has fallen over the past year. Population projections provide estimates of the size of the future population based on certain assumptions and pre-existing trends, but they have not yet included the full impact of recent reductions in net migration and nor do they include the potential impacts of Government policies.

Radicalism

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the implications for the UK of the report and recommendations of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe AS/POL (2009) 15 rev on the fight against extremism: achievements, deficiencies and failures; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: The report on The Fight against Extremism: Achievements, Deficiencies and Failures is still in draft and is due to be considered by the Political Affairs Committee at its meeting on 17 December. It has not yet been adopted by the Committee, or discussed by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

UK Border Agency

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many contracts with a monetary value of over £5 million the UK Border Agency and its predecessors have signed in each of the last five years.

Phil Woolas: The number of contracts let with a monetary value of over £5 million in each of the last five years is as follows. This does not include contracts which when signed had a value which was less than £5 million but due to a subsequent extension then exceeded this value.
	
		
			   Total number of contracts over £5 million let by UKBA 
			 2009 3 
			 2008 6 
			 2007 3 
			 2006 34 
			 2005 2

UK Border Agency

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what UK Border Agency  (a) outsourced services with an annual monetary value of over £250,000 and  (b) information technology systems with an annual monetary value of over £250,000 are due to (i) be re-procured and (ii) become unsupported in the next four years.

Phil Woolas: The UK Border Agency has outsourced services across the organisation. The decision to re-procure is primarily driven by the business need and priority, with the commercial strategy and procurement route determined subsequently.
	The approach to re-procurement evaluation is made towards the end of each contract in light of business need and available procurement options.
	There are no information technology systems contracts which are due to be re-procured or become unsupported in the next four years. However, the UK Border Agency contracts for outsourced services which may be re-procured in the next four years are as follows:
	 Programme/project/contract
	Haulage, Storage and Disposal of Excise Goods
	Maintenance of five Existing Cutters
	Supply and Maintenance of Mobile Scanners
	Maintenance for Baggage X-Ray
	Maintenance of Legacy Mobile Freight Scanners
	Supply and Maintenance of Trace Detection Equipment
	Freight Searching Services
	Maintenance and Obsolescence Management Services of Passive Millimetric Wave Machine
	Relocation Services
	Provision of Aerial Surveillance Services
	Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre (IRC) Operating Contract
	Campsfield House IRC Operating Contract
	Colnbrook IRC Operating Contract
	Oakington IRC Operating Contract
	Dungavel House IRC Operating Contract
	Yarl's Wood IRC Operating Contract
	Ticketing Services for UKBA Removals
	Escorting-In Country, Overseas and Short Term Holding Facility (STHF)
	Port of Dover-STHF Contract
	Port of Harwich-STHF Contract
	Colnbrook Gaolers
	Refugee Integration and Employment Services
	Education Verification and English Language Equivalence
	Facilitated Returns Scheme for Foreign National Prisoners
	Assisted Voluntary Returns
	Contact Centre Services
	Payment Processing
	Asylum Support Partnership Co-Ordination Service
	Transportation of Presenting Officers
	Case Resolution Department Administrative Function
	Target Contracts-Asylum Accommodation
	Gateway-Refugee Resettlement Programme
	Asylum-One Stop Services
	Transport Services for Asylum Seekers
	Cash Payment Contract
	Initial Accommodation-Associated Services
	Immigration Case Work System Integrator Contract
	Production and Supply of Visa Vignette Products
	Service Management of Biometrics Messaging System
	Provision of Front End Visa Application Service
	Security Guards
	Provision of Arrest Team Equipment and Training
	Provision of Conflict Training
	Leadership and Management Development
	Maintenance of Electronic Security Systems
	Record Services Contract
	Transport of High Risk High Value Items
	Repatriation of Offenders
	Occupational Health Services
	Counter Terrorism Awareness training.

UK Border Agency

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff in the UK Border Agency were classified as having non-jobs on  (a) 1 April 2008,  (b) 1 October 2008,  (c) 1 April 2009 and  (d) 1 October 2009.

Phil Woolas: 'Non-jobs' has been interpreted as staff who are currently in the redeployment pool. The following table refers to the number of UK Border Agency Staff in the redeployment network as of  (a) 1 April 2008,  (b) 1 October 2008,  (c) 1 April 2009 and  (d) 1 October 2009.
	
		
			  Date as at:  Number of UK Border Agency staff 
			 1 April 2008 26 
			 1 October 2008 22 
			 1 April 2009 24 
			 1 October 2009 19

UK Border Agency

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what performance targets the UK Border Agency has set for its senior civil service members in 2009.

Phil Woolas: Performance targets for senior civil servants within the UK Border Agency are set in accordance with the Cabinet Office Guidance entitled 'Managing Performance in the Senior Civil Service' and are individual to the person and the role they perform.
	The Cabinet Office guidance requires that senior civil service objectives should include:
	Business delivery objectives-that define business outcomes for the specific post, reflecting business priorities and value for money commitments for the year ahead, linked to delivery targets and the Agency's PSAs.
	Corporate objectives-that articulate the leadership activity that contributes to the effective corporate management and coherence of a Department and/or the civil service as a whole.
	Capability objectives-to ensure that individuals, the Department and civil service have the right capability to deliver business outcomes now and in the future, including improvement of people performance management: managing talent, managing attendance and promoting well-being; and addressing poor performance. Capability targets are drawn from unit and Directorate business plans and, if appropriate, the Home Office's PSAs.
	Personal development objectives-to emphasise the importance of continuous personal development and an individual's growth in competence against the leadership and broader Professional Skills for Government frameworks. In addition, individuals are appraised on their leadership behaviour demonstrated throughout the year including providing direction for the organisation; delivering results; and building capability in the organisation to address current and future challenges.

UK Border Agency

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of UK Border Agency staff have financial targets in their performance management objectives; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The setting of individual objectives in performance management reviews is a matter for individual line managers and it is not possible for this reason to state the percentage of staff with financial targets or objectives except at disproportionate costs. We do not waste taxpayers' money on compiling this information.

UK Border Agency

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff were working at each grade in the UK Border Agency on 1 November 2009.

Phil Woolas: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  United Kingdom Border Agency staff( 1) 
			   Full-time equivalent (rounded) 
			  Grade  
			 Senior Civil Service 74 
			 Grade 6 165 
			 Grade 7 544 
			 HM Inspector Immigration 213 
			 Senior Officer 151 
			 Senior Executive Officer 1,076 
			 Higher Officer 2,213 
			 Chief Immigration Officer 773 
			 Higher Executive Officer 2,090 
			 Immigration Officer 3,580 
			 Executive Officer 4,252 
			 Assistant Immigration Officer 709 
			 Administrative Officer 4,853 
			 Administrative Assistant 1,531 
			 Null/Unrecorded grade(2) 481 
			   
			  Locally engaged staff (international group)( 3)  
			  Of which:  
			 Level I 23 
			 Level II 184 
			 Level III 668 
			 Level IV 485 
			 Level V 63 
			 Total 24,128 
			 (1) Staff excludes 710 agency works. Figures as at 31 October 2009. (2) Includes approximately 350 staff whose data are unavailable except at disproportionate cost during machinery of government transfer from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs. (3) Locally engaged staff work for the UK Border Agency but are employed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

UK Border Agency

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many projects in progress at the UK Border Agency on 1 November 2009 did not have  (a) signed-off business cases and  (b) end dates; and what the total budget is of the programmes in each category.

Phil Woolas: This financial year UKBA has had 12 areas of activity it treats as programmes and projects, of which one had closed by 1 November. This leaves 11 programmes and projects within the corporate portfolio that support the UKBA business plan, change programme and wider Home Office initiatives.
	Out of the 11 programmes and projects, two do not yet have a signed-off business case. The two projects are in the process of developing their business cases and are due to go through financial and other approval processes in early 2010.
	All 11 programmes and projects have a planned end date.

HEALTH

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many finished admission episodes to hospital there were in each strategic health authority area  (a) in total and  (b) per 100,000 of the population where an illness related to alcohol was a primary or secondary diagnosis in each of the last five years.

Gillian Merron: The number and rate of finished admissions of patients with a primary or secondary alcohol-related diagnosis in each strategic health authority area can be found in the following table:
	
		
			  Number and rate of finished admissions of patients with an alcohol-related diagnosis 
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			  Strategic health authority  Number of  a dmissions  Rate  o f admission per 100,000 population (EASR)  Number of admissions  Rate  of admission per 100,000 population (EASR)  Number of admissions  Rate of admission per 100,000 population (EASR)  Number of admissions  Rate  of admission per 100,000 population (EASR)  Number of admissions  Rate  of admission per 100,000 population (EASR) 
			 North East 43,919 1,535 50,579 1,749 55,510 1,898 60,755 2,046 67,955 2,254 
			 North West 114,946 1,513 129,919 1,701 141,493 1,835 151,427 1,944 163,564 2,081 
			 Yorkshire and The Humber 66,684 1,178 72,870 1,272 77,454 1,331 83,442 1,413 91,345 1,525 
			 East Midlands 56,928 1,159 62,722 1,260 67,710 1,343 74,340 1,452 82,047 1,560 
			 West Midlands 63,692 1,075 76,778 1,275 88,490 1,451 91,536 1,479 104,533 1,662 
			 East of England 63,472 975 72,622 1,097 77,808 1,156 84,711 1,235 91,625 1,303 
			 London 74,522 1,038 87,428 1,208 96,194 1,320 102,027 1,386 110,981 1,490 
			 South East Coast 46,802 938 54,833 1,082 60,074 1,173 66,025 1,264 71,805 1,338 
			 South Central 36,032 824 41,219 928 41,889 927 48,200 1,049 53,203 1,128 
			 South West 70,278 1,145 77,755 1,250 83,415 1,315 88,393 1,365 98,509 1,492 
			 Unknown /no fixed abode 6,908 n/a 8,787 n/a 9,082 n/a 12,400 n/a 9,656 n/a 
			 England 644,185 1,144 735,512 1,290 799,120 1,384 863,257 1,473 945,223 1,583 
			 n/a = Not applicable.  Notes: EASR - European Age-Standardised Rate. Includes activity in English National Health Service Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector. Alcohol-specific condition Alcohol-specific conditions are those defined as wholly attributed to alcohol, based on the methodology developed by the North West Public Health Observatory. They are: Alcoholic cardiomyopathy (142.6) Alcoholic gastritis (K29.2) Alcoholic liver disease (K70) Alcoholic myopathy (G72.1) Alcoholic polyneuropathy (G62.1) Alcohol-induced pseudo-Cushing's syndrome (E24.4) Chronic pancreatitis (alcohol induced) (K86.0) Degeneration of nervous system due to alcohol (G31.2) Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol (F10) Accidental poisoning by and exposure to alcohol (X45) Ethanol poisoning (T51.0) Methanol poisoning (T51.1) Toxic effect of alcohol, unspecified (T51.9) Number of episodes in which the patient had an alcohol-specific primary or secondary diagnosis These figures represent the number of episodes where an alcohol-specific diagnosis was recorded in any of the 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and seven prior to 2002-03) primary and secondary diagnosis fields in a Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) record. Each episode is only counted once in each count, even if an alcohol-specific diagnosis is recorded in more than one diagnosis field of the record.  Ungrossed data Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).  Finished admission episodes A finished admission episode is the first period of inpatient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Finished admission episodes are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. It should be noted that admissions do not represent the number of inpatients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.  Primary diagnosis The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the HES data set and provides the main reason why the patient was admitted to hospital.  Secondary diagnosis As well as the primary diagnosis, there are up to 19 (13 from 2002-03 to 2007-08 and six prior to 2002-03) secondary diagnosis fields in HES that show other diagnoses relevant to the episode of care.  Data quality HES are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs) in England. Data are also received from a number of independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain.  Assessing growth through time HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. The quality and coverage of the data have improved over time. These improvements in information submitted by the NHS have been particularly marked in the earlier years and need to be borne in mind when analysing time series. Some of the increase in figures for later years (particularly 2006-07 onwards) may be due to the improvement in the coverage of independent sector activity. Changes in NHS practice also need to be borne in mind when analysing time series. For example, a number of procedures may now be undertaken in outpatient settings and may no longer be accounted for in the HES data. This may account for any reductions in activity over time.  Assignment of Episodes to Years Years are assigned by the end of the first period of care in a patient's hospital stay.  Source:  Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The NHS Information Centre for health and social care.

Ambulance Services

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place in the Library a copy of the terms of reference of the national ambulance service management group.

Mike O'Brien: There is no record in the Department of any group that goes by that name.
	There is a national NHS Ambulance Chief Executives Group. This is an NHS-led group which is chaired by the chief executive of London ambulance service, Peter Bradley.

Ambulance Services: Equipment

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many requests for funding for protective vests for ambulance personnel have been made to his Department in the last two years;
	(2)  what trials of personal protective equipment have been initiated in the ambulance service in the last two years; when each such trial is expected to finish; and when the conclusions of these studies will be published;
	(3)  what representations he has received from frontline NHS ambulance trust staff on the issue of body armour in the last two years; and if he will place in the Library a copy of each such representation.

Ann Keen: Information on requests made to the Department for funding for protective vests for ambulance personnel in the last two years is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	Information on trials of personal protective equipment in the ambulance service in the last two years is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	Information on representations made to the Department from frontline ambulance staff on the issue of body armour in the last two years is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	The NHS Security Management Service (SMS) can assist employers through guidance on assessing risks and acting to protect staff and, where incidents do occur, on taking action against offenders. The NHS SMS also works with stakeholders, including the Social Partnership Forum, to promote the safety and security of NHS staff.

Ambulances

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many ambulance vehicles are based in each English county; what the ratio of ambulances to people is in each county; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: The Department does not collect centrally information on the numbers of ambulances or the ratio of ambulances to people in each English county. Each ambulance service should plan to provide appropriate resources to meet local demand.

Animals: Health Hazards

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were treated by the National Health Service in each of the last five years for conditions contracted from animal faeces in public places.

Gillian Merron: It is not known how many people were treated for infections that were contracted from animal faeces in a public place, as this level of information is not collected. Though data on laboratory confirmed infections that can be transmitted through contact with animal faeces are available, the precise source of the majority of the infections is not known. This is because many of these infections can be transmitted through multiple routes and from a range of sources. Data on all the common infections that can be transmitted from animals to humans, including via animal faeces, are published by the Health Protection Agency.

Autism

Nigel Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with which Ministerial colleagues in each Department he has discussed the development in other Government Departments of the Government's autism strategy.

Phil Hope: The adult autism strategy spans not just health and social care but also provides a framework for services across the public sector. The Department has therefore undertaken an extensive programme of activity to ensure this work aligns with the existing work programmes of other Government Departments. Departmental officials have been working closely with colleagues across Government to assess:
	the merits of issues and proposals emerging from the consultation and external reference group or if there are more viable alternative means to deliver the same goals;
	the cost-effectiveness of options for action, and whether they can be integrated into existing budgets; and
	the scale of the offer which each Department can bring forward to improve access to services and transform and improve the life chances of people with Autistic Spectrum Condition.
	The strategy will benefit from the same cross-Government coalition which has so successfully supported the delivery of Valuing People Now.

Autism

Nigel Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements his Department has made to involve external stakeholders in the post-consultation development of the Government's autism strategy.

Phil Hope: From the outset, the development of the autism strategy for adults has been underpinned by the two principles of co-production and inclusivity. The public consultation on the strategy was designed to ensure that people with Autistic Spectrum Condition, their families and carers could identify the barriers to access and their key priorities for change in public services.
	The consultation which included regional events, on-line discussion forums and targeted engagement, aimed at hard-to-reach groups, received over 1,000 responses. These responses will set the direction of travel for the autism strategy.
	The strategy will continue to benefit from the work of its external reference group comprising service users, family carers and the voluntary sector providers as well as professionals who design, develop and provide services.
	There will be a further national consultation on the health and social care guidance, mandated by the legislation, which will accompany the strategy and is scheduled for publication in December 2012. We are equally committed to involving service users, carers and the voluntary sector in the production of the guidance.
	The third sector, including user-led organisations, has a critical role to play as ambassadors for the strategy, supporting not just design but also delivery.

Back Pain: Waiting Lists

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time was to receive a spinal injection for the treatment of back pain conditions in each London acute hospital in the latest period for which figures are available.

Mike O'Brien: This information is not collected centrally.

Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he was first informed by Monitor of changes to its assessment of the quality of governance at Basildon and Thurrock NHS Foundation Trust.

Mike O'Brien: Monitor told the Department on the 25 November 2009 that it was going to intervene at Basildon and Thurrock university hospitals NHS foundation trust. This notification followed Monitor's board meeting earlier that day, at which Monitor decided to use its statutory powers of intervention to address concerns about the trust's leadership and quality of care.

Cancer: Health Services

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what criteria were employed by the National Cancer Action Team during the decision-making process on a regional centre for head and neck cancer services for Worcestershire; for what reasons these criteria were selected; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: The National Cancer Action Team (NCAT) does not make decisions about the establishment and location of cancer services or centres.
	The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) issued Improving Outcomes Guidance (IOG) in November 2004 on the organisation of health care for adults with head and neck cancers. The guidance recommends which health care professionals should be involved in treatment and care, and the types of hospital or cancer centre that are best suited to provide that health care. It is for primary care trusts as commissioners of local services to implement this guidance in conjunction with their cancer networks, strategic health authorities and other stakeholders.
	The role of the NCAT is to assess whether the plans submitted by a trust or a cancer network are compliant with IOG. Support for the Three Counties Cancer Network's implementation summary was provided because it was considered to be compliant with the IOG recommendations. To see further improvement in cancer services it is essential that IOG is fully implemented nationally.

Cancer: Health Services

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what plans he has made for the future of acute hospital cancer services in Worcestershire;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effects of transferring head and neck cancer services from Worcestershire on service provision to patients within the geographical region; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: It is the responsibility of Worcestershire Primary Care Trust to plan and develop appropriate services, including those for cancer, which will meet the needs of its resident population.
	No assessment has been undertaken by the Department with regard to head and neck cancer services in the Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire areas. There are no firm proposals at present. However, once these have been developed we would expect them to be subject to formal public consultation.

Cancer: Health Services

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what dates the Three Counties Cancer Network received submissions on the head and neck cancer treatment submissions from  (a) Worcestershire Royal Hospital and  (b) Gloucestershire Royal Hospital; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: The information requested is not held centrally. The hon. Member may wish to approach the national health service organisations involved, Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust and Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, for this information directly.

Cancer: Health Services

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the report of the National Cancer Action Team on head and neck cancer services in Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Gloucestershire; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: The National Cancer Peer Review programme conducted peer reviews of cancer services in the Three Counties Cancer Network, which includes Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Gloucestershire, and published reports of the reviews in 2006 and 2008. The National Cancer Peer Review programme aims to improve care for people with cancer.
	It is for primary care trusts in conjunction with their cancer networks, strategic health authorities and other stakeholders to assess the reports and take any necessary action to improve local services.

Consultants: Greater London

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many vacant posts there are for accident and emergency consultants at each London acute hospital trust; and what proportion these figures represent of all such posts at each such trust.

Ann Keen: This information is not collected centrally, but is held by individual acute trusts.

Dementia

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the  (a) remit,  (b) work programme and  (c) membership is of the ministerial taskforce on dementia research; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: I announced plans to establish a new ministerial group on dementia research following the very successful ministerial summit on dementia research held in July this year. The remit of the group will be to maintain the momentum begun at the summit by developing a new vision for the future of dementia research and advising on practicable ways to achieve that vision.
	The group will cover the full spectrum of scientific research, including work on cause (including prevention), cure and care. Its detailed work programme is for the group to determine, but will be driven by three main objectives:
	to devise ways to use available resources more effectively to help increase the volume and impact of high quality dementia research;
	to develop a strategy for increasing public support for dementia research; and
	to provide informed and authoritative advice on Government policy and wider national and international initiatives.
	Membership is currently being finalised, but the group will include the key bodies with a stake in dementia research, including the main charities, the commercial sector and people living with dementia.

Departmental Electronic Equipment

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many plasma screen televisions his Department has purchased since 2001; and what the cost has been of purchasing and installing such screens in each such year.

Phil Hope: The Department has not purchased any plasma screen televisions since 2001.

Departmental Information Officers

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Fareham of 1 September 2008,  Official Report, column 1688W, on Government communications, what the  (a) job titles and  (b) divisions are of each of the staff employed in his Department in an embedded communications role.

Phil Hope: There are currently 21 embedded communicators employed by the Department. Job titles and divisions are as follows:
	 Commissioning and System Management
	Communications and Organisational Development Lead
	 Work force
	Head of Communications
	Medical Revalidation Communications Manager
	Professional Standards Stakeholder and Communications Manager
	Equality and Diversity Council Communications Manager
	 NHS Medical Directorate
	Head of Communications Quality Framework
	Modernising Medical Careers Communications
	Vascular Checks Communications Manager
	 Chief Nursing Officer
	Professional Communications Officer-Professional Leadership team
	Communications Manager-Professional Leadership Team
	Communications Manager-Healthcare Associated Infections and Cleanliness Policy Team (job share 0.6 wte)
	Communications Manager-Healthcare Associated Infections and Cleanliness Policy Team (job share 0.6 wte)
	 Policy and Strategy
	Health Inequalities Unit Communications Manager
	Violence Against Women and Girls Communications manager
	 Green Paper on Care and Support
	Head of Communications Strategy for the Care and Support White Paper
	 National Carers Strategy
	Communications and Stakeholder Engagement Adviser
	 Mental Health
	Communications Manager, Mental Health Division
	 Public Health
	Briefing Officer (Drugs and Alcohol Program)
	 Pandemic Influenza Preparedness
	Senior Information Officer
	 Immunisation
	Head of Immunisation Information
	Publisher

Departmental Internet

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what re-designs of websites operated by  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies have taken place since 27 June 2007; and what the (i) cost to the public purse and (ii) date of completion of each such re-design was.

Phil Hope: The Department operates three main websites:
	The Department of Health corporate website (www.dh.gov.uk)
	NHS Choices (www.nhs.uk)
	Connecting for Health (www.connectingforhealth.nhs.uk).
	Since 27 June 2007 each has undergone the following re-designs listed as follows, with the given costs and completion dates:
	 The Department of Health corporate website
	Number of re-designs since 27 June 2007: 1
	Date on which re-design was completed: 11 February 2008
	Total cost: £513,000.00.
	 NHS Choices
	Number of re-designs since 27 June 2007: 0
	Date on which re-design was completed: Not applicable
	Total cost: Nil.
	 Connecting for Health
	Number of re-designs since 27 June 2007: 1
	Date on which re-design was completed: July 2009
	Total cost: All work was completed using internal resource and formed part of the ongoing maintenance of the site.
	Since 27 June 2007 the Department has reduced the total number of websites that it operates from 196 to 71, to meets its obligations under Transformational Government. The Department will continue to reduce this number to just two websites by the Cabinet Office deadline of July 2011.
	Given the high number of websites that were in existence between 27 June 2007 and December 2009, it is not possible to provide information on re-designs for all of these as this would incur disproportionate costs.
	The Department has two executive agencies that each operate their own website. These are:
	The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)
	NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency (PASA).
	Since 27 June 2007 the MHRA website and the PASA website have not undergone any re-designs.

Departmental Pay

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the  (a) average and  (b) highest non-consolidated performance related payment for senior civil servants in his Department was in cash terms in each of the last five years.

Phil Hope: holding answer 30 November 2009
	Non-consolidated performance payments are made under the terms set out in the Government's response to the recommendations of the independent Senior Salaries Review Body. A close and effective link between pay and performance and increased use of variable pay is a key element of the reward arrangements for the senior civil service. Over the last five years, average (median) and maximum non-consolidated payments have been:
	
		
			   £  Number 
			  2009-10 to date   
			 Total payments 1,677,062 199 
			 Average (median) non-consolidated payment 8,000 - 
			 Highest non-consolidated payment 27,500 - 
			
			  2008-09   
			 Total payments 1,830,402 214 
			 Average (median) non-consolidated payment 7,927 - 
			 Highest non-consolidated payment 49,004 - 
			
			  2007-08   
			 Total payments 1,556,945 176 
			 Average (median) non-consolidated payment 8,927 - 
			 Highest non-consolidated payment 27,500 - 
			
			  2006-07   
			 Total payments 1,161,823 175 
			 Average (median) non-consolidated payment 5,662 - 
			 Highest non-consolidated payment 30,699 - 
			
			  2005-06   
			 Total payments 961,843 181 
			 Average (median) non-consolidated payment 4,055 - 
			 Highest non-consolidated payment 30,000 -

Departmental Public Expenditure

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has allocated to Maternity Matters programmes in  (a) 2009-10 and  (b) 2010-11.

Ann Keen: In January 2008, the Department announced an additional £330 million for maternity services to help support the implementation of Maternity Matters over the three years 2008-09 to 2010-11. This funding has been included in primary care trusts (PCT) baseline allocations. It is for PCTs to determine how best to use it, based on the needs of local maternity services.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has allocated for NHS Baby Lifecheck in  (a) 2009-10 and  (b) 2010-11.

Gillian Merron: Expenditure on NHS Baby Lifecheck in 2009-10 is expected to be approximately £1.3 million. The allocation for NHS Lifecheck in 2010-11 is still under consideration.

Departmental Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what payments the NHS Supply Chain has made to Fleishman-Hillard in the last 12 months; for what purpose; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the contract under which such payments have been made.

Mike O'Brien: The Department does not hold this information.
	The operation of NHS Supply Chain was outsourced to a DHL Group company, Exel Europe Ltd., following the signing of a Master Services Agreement in September 2006.

Departmental Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what payments the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has made to  (a) Weber Shandwick Public Affairs and  (b) Citigate Public Affairs in the last 12 months; for what purposes; and if he will place in the Library a copy of each contract under which such payments were made.

Mike O'Brien: The information requested is not held centrally. Payments made by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) to individual companies are a matter for NICE as an independent body.

Departmental Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what payments the Food Standards Agency has made to Stratagem in the last 12 months; for what purposes; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the contract under which such payments were made.

Gillian Merron: The Food Standards Agency has made 12 payments totalling £22,875.70 over the last 12 months to Stratagem. These payments were made to Stratagem for the purposes of public affairs support and stakeholder management.
	The contract will not be placed in the Library due to commercial considerations.

Departmental Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what payments the Food Standards Agency has made to Edelman in the last 12 months; for what purposes; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the contract under which such payments were made.

Gillian Merron: There have been no payments made by the Food Standards Agency to Edelman in the last 12 months.

Departmental Publicity

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has spent on  (a) Ministerial photoshoots and  (b) production of videos in which Ministers appear in the last three years for which figures are available.

Phil Hope: Group and individual photos were taken of the ministerial team in November 2007. The cost for this photoshoot is not separately identifiable within our records.
	Videos are sometimes produced in which Ministers appear as part of a wider production. The costs of such videos are not held centrally and cannot be provided except at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Responsibilities

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 3 December 2009,  Official Report, column 934W, on departmental ministerial duties, at what time on 27 October 2009 the Secretary of State  (a) arrived at and  (b) left Clarence House; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State did not visit Clarence House on 27 October 2009.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State did visit Clarence House on 29 October 2009, as is recorded in the Court Circular of that date.

Departmental Telephone Services

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many telephone lines with the prefix  (a) 0870,  (b) 0845 and  (c) 0800 his Department (i) operates and (ii) sponsors; how many calls were received to each number in the last 12 months; and whether alternative numbers charged at the BT local rate are available in each case.

Phil Hope: The Department's Communications Directorate currently maintains no '0870' phone numbers but runs or promotes four '0845' phone numbers and 188 '0800' phone numbers.
	Information on any other telephone services that may be run on behalf of the Department is not held centrally and cannot be provided except at disproportionate cost.
	Records on the number of calls to individual numbers over the period requested are not available. Many of the numbers are received by the same campaign call centre and to collate records for individual phone numbers would incur disproportionate costs.
	There are no alternative numbers available.

Drugs: Misuse

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate his Department has made of the number of people attending accident and emergency departments in each region with  (a) drug-related conditions and  (b) injuries in which the misuse of drugs was a contributory cause in each of the last three years.

Gillian Merron: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Family Nurse Partnership Programme

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what proportion of Family Nurse Partnership programme staff are health visitors;
	(2)  what the estimated total cost is of providing the Family Nurse Partnership scheme; and what estimate has been made of the average cost per family of the scheme;
	(3)  what his Department's plans are for expansion of the Family Nurse Partnership.

Ann Keen: Of all the family nurses currently employed in Family Nurse Partnership (FNP) sites, 54 per cent. had been in a health visiting post immediately prior to becoming a family nurse and 67 per cent. were currently registered health visitors.
	A formative evaluation of implementation in the first 10 FNP sites is being conducted by Birkbeck college, university of London. This will conclude by 2011 and will include an assessment of costs. A report of findings from the second year was published on the Department for Children, Schools and Families research website in September this year, and this suggested that the cost of FNP per client for those completing the programme is around £4,500 over two and a half years.
	The FNP is also being evaluated through a randomised controlled trial, led by the South East Wales Trials Unit at the School of Medicine, Cardiff university. This will test the impact of the FNP compared with other services on pregnancy and birth outcomes, on child health and development and on parental life course; and it will also assess costs, through an economic evaluation.
	The FNP programme gives us a real opportunity to transform the life chances of some of our most vulnerable children. It has been shown in the United States to have strong and consistent short and long-term benefits for children and parents. Early learning in England suggests that the FNP can be delivered well by our skilled family nurses, that the programme is highly valued by clients, that fathers engage with it well, and that early impacts look promising.
	We will be testing FNP in 50 sites across England by January 2010 and over 3,000 clients have enrolled on FNP to date. The Child Health Strategy, published in February 2009, said the Government wished to expand to 70 pilot sites by April 2011. This would allow capacity to deliver FNP to at least 7,000 families. The Child Health Strategy also said that if the research findings are positive we would like to see FNP offered to the most vulnerable first-time young mothers across England over the next decade.

Health Services: Inspections

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) planned and  (b) unannounced inspection visits the Care Quality Commission has conducted in each month since its inception; and how many (i) planned and (ii) unannounced inspection visits its predecessor organisations conducted in each year since 1997-98.

Mike O'Brien: The Care Quality Commission has provided the following information.
	The information is not available in the format requested.
	The Care Quality Commission has completed the following inspections of health and social care providers since 1 April 2009.
	
		
			  2009-10 (up to 30 October 2009) 
			   April  May  June  July  August  September  October  Total 
			 Key inspections completed 1,206 1,325 1,426 1,396 1,181 1,157 827 (1)8,788 
			 Of those, the number which were announced 107 90 41 47 54 73 30 (2)526 
			 (1)This includes 84 inspections of NHS trusts and 186 healthcare associated infection inspections that are not broken down monthly. (2) This includes 84 inspections of NHS trusts that are not broken down monthly. 
		
	
	The figures do not include an additional 214 inspections of independent health care providers (143 announced) which are currently under way and not yet completed.
	The figures also do not include joint inspections with Ofsted relating to safeguarding. These commenced in June and 11 have been completed.
	The following table shows the number of inspections carried out by the National Commission for Social Care and the Commission for Social Care Inspection in previous years.
	
		
			   2002-03( 1)  2003-04( 1)  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07( 2)  2007-08( 3)  2008-09 
			 Key inspections completed 41,434 46,768 48,062 47,341 26,676 19,059 15,072 
			 Of those, the number which were announced 25,606 24,226 25,233 13,824 1,734 626 303 
			 (1) During 2002-03 and 2003-04 the inspections were carried out by the National Care Standards Commission. From 2004-05 to 2008-09 the inspections were carried out by the Commission for Social Care Inspection. (2 )The reduction in the number of inspections is due to changes in methodology, changes to statutory inspection frequency plus a focus on poorer performing services. (3 )The further reduction in inspection numbers is due to the transfer of responsibility for regulation of children's services to Ofsted from 1 April 2007. 
		
	
	The following table shows the total number of inspections of independent health care providers for the previous three years carried out by the Healthcare Commission.
	
		
			   2006-07  2007-08  2008-09( 1) 
			 Inspections completed 412 865 402 
			 Of those, the number which were announced 373 628 139 
			 (1) The reduction in inspections in 2008-09 was due to changes in methodology. 
		
	
	In addition, the following table shows the total number of NHS trusts inspected by the Healthcare Commission against core standards.
	
		
			   Number 
			 2007-08 79 
			 2008-09 84 
			  Note: This is not the number of individual visits. Some trusts had more than one visit as part of an inspection. 
		
	
	The following table shows the number of health care associated inspections of NHS trusts carried out by the Healthcare Commission. These are all unannounced.
	
		
			   Number 
			 2007-08 120 
			 2008-09 190 
			  Note: This does not include follow-up visits. 
		
	
	These figures do not include service reviews, clinical audits, or any of the investigations undertaken by the Healthcare Commission.

Health Visitors: East Sussex

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many health visitors have been employed in  (a) Lewes constituency and  (b) East Sussex in each year since 1997.

Ann Keen: The number of health visitors in the East Sussex Downs and Weald Primary Care Trust area (PCT) which includes the Lewes constituency as at 30 September for each year that data are available is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  East Sussex Downs and Weald PCT 
			   Headcount 
			 2002 91 
			 2003 84 
			 2004 75 
			 2005 81 
			 2006 42 
			 2007 72 
			 2008 70 
			  Notes: 1. East Sussex Downs and Weald PCT was formed in October 2006 from a complete merger of Eastbourne Downs PCT and Sussex Downs and Weald PCT. Figures for 2002-06 are an aggregate of these predecessor organisations. 2. The NHS Information Centre are aware of the drop in numbers for 2006. It is possible that Eastbourne Downs PCT failed to include around 30 health visitors in its census return for 2006. The census return was fully validated and confirmation that the return was accurate was received from the organisation prior to publication of the figures.  Source: The NHS Information Centre for health and social care Non-Medical Workforce census.

Health Visitors: Training

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much on average it cost his Department to fund a one-year degree-level health visitor course for a qualified nurse in 2008-09.

Ann Keen: The average cost of funding a one-year degree-level health visitor course for a qualified nurse in 2008-09 is not held centrally.

Health Visitors: Training

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what expenditure his Department incurred on training and professional development for health visitors in the last three years.

Ann Keen: Information on expenditure incurred on training and professional development for health visitors in the last three years is not held centrally.
	This information can be provided by SHA workforce education commissioning teams.

Hearing Aids: Waiting Lists

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time was to receive a digital hearing aid in each London primary care trust (PCT) area in the latest period for which information is available; and how many people are waiting to receive a digital hearing aid in each such PCT area.

Mike O'Brien: This information is not held centrally.

Hospital Beds: Greater London

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many times patients requiring intensive care services have been unable to obtain an intensive care bed at each London acute hospital in the last 12 months.

Mike O'Brien: This information is not held centrally.

Hospital Beds: Surrey

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many beds there were in community hospitals in  (a) Surrey,  (b) Guildford and  (c) Waverley in each year since 2001;
	(2)  how many beds in community hospitals were temporarily closed in  (a) Surrey,  (b) Guildford and  (c) Waverley borough during each year since 2001.

Mike O'Brien: The information requested is not held centrally.

Hospitals: Admissions

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) attendances at accident and emergency departments and  (b) emergency admissions to other hospital departments were recorded in each month of each of the last three financial years.

Mike O'Brien: Patients are not admitted to accident and emergency (A and E) departments; rather they are admitted via A and E to other departments within the hospital. The following table shows emergency admissions for each month of the last three financial years. Separate totals are shown for emergency admissions via A and E, and emergency admissions via other routes such as direct referrals to wards by general practitioners, bed bureaux and consultant out-patient clinics.
	
		
			  Number of emergency admissions, England, 2006-07 to 2008-09 
			  Thousand 
			   Total via A and E  Total not via  A and E  Total emergency admissions 
			  2006-07
			 April 230.3 116.7 347.1 
			 May 230.3 119.9 350.3 
			 June 284.7 146.2 430.8 
			 July 230.9 117.3 348.2 
			 August 279.7 138.4 418.1 
			 September 233.7 116.2 349.9 
			 October 231.9 117.1 348.9 
			 November 293.0 149.7 442.6 
			 December 239.1 115.0 354.2 
			 January 239.7 116.3 356.0 
			 February 244.3 119.6 363.9 
			 March 291.1 148.6 439.7 
			 
			  2007-08
			 April 237.2 113.0 350.2 
			 May 285.3 140.5 425.8 
			 June 233.6 116.0 349.6 
			 July 235.1 116.6 351.7 
			 August 289.9 138.6 428.5 
			 September 235.0 117.6 352.6 
			 October 236.8 117.5 354.3 
			 November 303.2 150.2 453.4 
			 December 242.5 114.0 356.5 
			 January 296.6 143.3 439.9 
			 February 243.7 118.7 362.4 
			 March 244.3 114.3 358.6 
			 
			  2008-09
			 April 244.9 117.8 362.7 
			 May 306.4 144.6 451.0 
			 June 246.0 119.9 366.0 
			 July 302.2 147.5 449.7 
			 August 240.9 109.6 350.6 
			 September 248.5 119.2 367.7 
			 October 315.0 150.8 465.9 
			 November 260.7 123.6 384.3 
			 December 268.5 116.8 385.4 
			 January 320.8 147.1 467.9 
			 February 261.4 121.2 382.6 
			 March 268.1 127.8 396.0 
			  Source: Department of Health dataset: Weekly SitReps.

Hospitals: Crimes of Violence

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many accident and emergency staff in hospitals in each region were assaulted while on duty in each of the last three years.

Ann Keen: Information on the number of accident and emergency staff who have been victims of assault while on duty is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	Information on the number of reported physical assaults against national health service staff in 2006-07 and 2007-08 is contained in the 'Tables showing number of reported physical assaults on NHS staff from 2004-05 to 2007-08, broken down by NHS trust/PCT' which have already been placed in the Library.
	Information on the number of reported physical assaults against NHS staff in 2008-09 is contained in the 'Tables showing number of reported physical assaults on NHS staff in 2008-09, broken down by NHS trust/PCT' which have already been placed in the Library.
	The NHS Security Management Service (SMS) can assist employers through guidance on assessing risks and acting to protect staff from assaults and, where incidents do occur, on taking action against offenders. The NHS SMS also works with stakeholders, including the Social Partnership Forum, to promote the safety and security of NHS staff.

Hospitals: Death

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish Hospital Standardised Mortality Ratios for each general hospital in England.

Mike O'Brien: Hospital Standardised Mortality Ratios (HSMRs) for every non-specialist acute NHS trust in England are published each month on the NHS Choices website at:
	www.nhs.uk

Impact Assessments

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many Regulatory Impact Assessments published by his Department have considered  (a) one,  (b) two,  (c) three and  (d) four policy options since 1997.

Phil Hope: The information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Knives: Injuries

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were admitted to  (a) the Royal Sussex Hospital, Brighton,  (b) the Eastbourne District General Hospital, Eastbourne and  (c) the Princess Royal Hospital, Haywards Heath with knife wounds in each year since 1997.

Gillian Merron: Information is not available in the format requested. However, the following table shows the count of finishes admission episodes where the external cause was for knife wounds at Brighton and Sussex University Hospital NHS Trust and East Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust from 2002-03 (the earliest data available) to 2008-09.
	
		
			  A count of finished admission episodes( 1)  where the external cause code( 2)  was knife wound at Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust and East Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust( 3)  from 2002-03 to 2008-09( 4) : A ctivity in English national health service hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector 
			   Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust  East Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust 
			 2008-09 58 35 
			 2007-08 71 51 
			 2006-07 51 50 
			 2005-06 47 51 
			 2004-05 49 21 
			 2003-04 57 32 
			 2002-03 48 39 
			  Notes: 1.  Finished admission episodes A finished admission episode (FAE) is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FAEs are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of inpatients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. 2.  Cause code A supplementary code that indicates the nature of any external cause of injury, poisoning or other adverse effects. Only the first external cause code which is coded within the episode is counted in hospital episode statistics (HES). The codes used to define knife wound are: W26-Contact with knife, sword or dagger X99-Assault by sharp object This code identifies assault by ANY sharp object and therefore includes but is not limited to assault with a knife. 3.  Hospital Provider A provider code is a unique code that identifies an organisation acting as a health care provider (e.g. NHS trust or primary care trust (PCT)). Hospital providers can also include Treatment Centres (TC). Normally, if data are tabulated by health care provider, the figure for an NHS trust gives the activity of all the sites as one aggregated figure. Some NHS trusts have not registered their TC as a separate site, and it is therefore not possible to identify their activity separately. The parliamentary question asks for information on the following hospitals the Royal Sussex Hospital, Brighton; the Eastbourne District General Hospital, Eastbourne; and the Princess Royal Hospital. Data for the individual hospital sites are not available. However: The Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton and the Princess Royal Hospital, Haywards Heath form part of the Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust for which we have provided data. The Eastbourne District General Hospital, Eastbourne is part of East Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust for which we have provided data. Due to organisational changes (both splits and mergers) data prior to 2002-03 are not comparable with that for later years at a trust level. For this reason we have not provided these figures as no meaningful time series is available. 4.  Assessing growth through time HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage (particularly in earlier years), improvements in coverage of independent sector activity (particularly from 2006-07) and changes in NHS practice. For example, apparent reductions in activity may be due to a number of procedures which may now be undertaken in out-patient settings and so no longer include in admitted patient HES data. 5.  Data quality HES are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and PCTs in England and from some independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain.  Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The NHS Information Centre for health and social care

Lancashire Primary Care Trust

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent estimate he has made of the number of people being treated for depression in Lancashire primary care trust.

Phil Hope: The information is not available in the format requested. The following table shows the number of patients aged 18 years or over, recorded on practice disease registers with a diagnosis of depression for the Central Lancashire primary care trust (PCT).
	
		
			  Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) 
			   Number of patients on depression register 
			 Central Lancashire PCT 44,720 
			  Notes: 1. The Information Centre for health and social care published the national QOF for England, which gives the number of people recorded on practice disease registers with a diagnosis of depression. The depression register only includes patients 18 years or over. 2. QOF is the national Quality and Outcomes Framework, introduced as part of the new general medical services contract on 1 April 2004. 3. Participation by practices in the QOF is voluntary, though participation rates are very high, with most personal medical services practices also taking part. 4. Patients will only contribute to the figures in QOF if they are registered with a general practice participating in QOF. 5. Most indicators in QOF have rules which allow for patients to be excluded (e.g. patient refuses treatment) and so the denominator for a given indicator may be less than the number of patients on the register for that disease. 6. The published QOF information was derived from QMAS; a national system developed by NHS Connecting for Health. 7. QMAS uses data from general practices to calculate individual practices' QOF achievement. QMAS is a national IT system developed by NHS Connecting for Health to support the QOF. 8. The QMAS system captures the number of patients on the various disease registers for each practice. The number of patients on the clinical registers can be used to calculate measures of disease prevalence, expressing the number of patients on each register as a percentage of the number of patients on practices' lists.  Source: Quality Management Analysis System (QMAS database) 2008-09 data as at end of June 2009

Legislation

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how long it took in each case between the completion of an impact assessment relating to each Bill sponsored by his Department and First Reading of that Bill since 1997.

Phil Hope: The Department does not hold these data centrally.

Maternity Services

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the recommendations of the NHS Neonatal Taskforce will be included as indicators in the 2009-10 NHS Operating Framework.

Mike O'Brien: The 2010-11 NHS Operating Framework is currently being developed.

Mental Capacity Act 2005

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what  (a) statutory instruments,  (b) departmental circulars and  (c) other documents he (i) has issued in the last 12 months and (ii) plans to issue in the next 12 months consequent on the provisions of the Mental Capacity Act 2005; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: The statutory instruments (SI), departmental circulars, other documents issued in the last 12 months consequent on the provisions of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 are shown as follows. There are no current plans to issue SIs in the next 12 months but there are plans to publish further guidance and possibly departmental circulars to support the implementation of the Act.
	 Statutory instruments
	Issued in the last 12 months
	1. Transitional arrangements were introduced via the Mental Health Act 2007 (Commencement No. 10 and Transitional Provisions) Order 2009 (SI 2009 No. 139), which were laid on 4 February 2009, to ease the handling of the then anticipated volume of assessments requested by managing authorities (care homes and hospitals) from supervisory bodies (local authorities and primary care trusts (PCTs)) following the implementation of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DOLS) on 1 April 2009.
	2. Amending regulations to the NHS Bodies and Local Authorities Partnership Arrangements Regulations 2000 were made via the NHS Bodies and Local Authorities Partnership Arrangements (Amendment) Regulations 2009 (SI 2009 No. 278), which were laid on 18 February 2009. The Mental Capacity Act Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards are now included on the list of functions of NHS Bodies as a result of regulation 5 of that SI, thereby enabling PCTs to enter into formal partnership arrangements with a local authority under section 75 of the National Health Service Act 2006. Local authorities are enabled to carry out MCA DOLS functions on behalf of PCTs. Powers for LAs to enter into formal partnership arrangements with a PCT under section 75 of the National Health Service Act 2006 and for PCTs to carry out MCA DOLS functions on behalf of PCTs already existed.
	3. The Mental Capacity (Deprivation of Liberty: Monitoring and Reporting; and Assessments-Amendment) Regulations 2009 (SI 2009 No. 827), which were made on 31 March 2009, provide for the powers of the Care Quality Commission for the purpose of monitoring, or reporting on, the operation of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards.
	 Departmental circulars
	Issued in the last 12 months
	1. A Dear Colleague Letter was issued on 19 March 2009 to confirm the funding available to PCTs in 2009-10 to support the implementation of the Mental Capacity Act.
	http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Lettersandcirculars/Dearcolleagueletters/DH_096559
	2. LAC(DH)(2009)2 was issued on 24 March 2009 to confirm the funding available to LAs in 2009-10 to support the implementation of the Mental Capacity Act.
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Lettersandcirculars/LocalAuthorityCirculars/DH_096868
	Copies of both documents have been placed in the Library.
	 Other documents
	Issued in the last 12 months
	 General guidance
	A range of guidance to support the implementation of the Act is available on dedicated pages on the Department's website and further guidance, for example, in relation to significant case law developments will be placed there over the next 12 months.
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/SocialCare/Deliveringadultsocialcare/MentalCapacity/MentalCapacityAct2005/index.htm
	http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/SocialCare/Deliverin gadultsocialcare/MentalCapacity/MentalCapacityActDeprivationofLiberty Safeguards/index.htm
	 Specific guidance
	Guidance was issued on 1 April 2009, on the Department's website and a copy has been placed in the Library, regarding arrangements under paragraph 183(4) of schedule A1 to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 between the Secretary of State and the Welsh Ministers. They set out that, where questions about a person's ordinary residence arise in relation to which local authority should act as the supervisory body, the Secretary of State will determine cross-border ordinary residence disputes between England and Wales where the person to whom the dispute relates is accommodated in a care home in England. The Welsh Ministers will determine cross-border disputes where the person to whom the dispute relates is accommodated in a care home in Wales.
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_097383

Mental Health Services

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the Government will fulfil those commitments made in the National Service Framework for mental health that have not yet been fully implemented.

Phil Hope: The Mental Health National Service Framework reached the end of its 10-year lifespan in September 2009. It provided a blueprint for a genuine transformation in the delivery of services, and many of its objectives have been carried forward into New Horizons.
	The cross-Government framework New Horizons: A shared vision for mental health was published on 7 December 2009 and is designed as a platform for future action across Government. It has been co-produced with a number of key external stakeholders, and sets out the expectation that services to treat and care for people with mental health problems will be accessible to everyone who needs them. A copy of the publication has already been placed in the Library.

Mental Health Services

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons the Choose and Book system does not include mental health services; and in what ways the New Horizons initiative will address this issue.

Phil Hope: Mental health services are not excluded from Choose and Book. In November 2009, there were around 380 mental health services available in the Directory of Services, 85 per cent. of which were for adults. From September to November 2009, 10,751 mental health appointments were booked using Choose and Book. However, Choose and Book may not always be the most appropriate way in which appointments for mental health services can be booked; appropriate help should be offered to vulnerable patients who may be unable or unwilling to take the necessary steps to make a booking.
	New Horizons: A shared vision for mental health, published on 7 December 2009, is a significant cross-Government programme of action with the twin aims of improving the mental health and well-being of the population and improving the quality and accessibility of services for people with poor mental health. It is based on four key guiding values one of which is being in control of our lives and includes a commitment to continue to explore and cost further options for extending choice to mental health service users. A copy of the publication has already been placed in the Library.

Mental Health Services

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in what way the New Horizons initiative will clarify entitlements to support and treatment for those with mental health problems.

Phil Hope: The consultation document on New Horizons, published in July this year, outlined the features of high-quality mental health care, which support the recovery of everyone who experiences mental ill health, including timely access to high-quality services. New Horizons: A shared vision for mental health published on 7 December 2009, a copy of which has already been placed in the Library, stresses the need to improve access to mental health services for socially excluded groups. It includes commitments to work with the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence on developing further quality standards in mental health, and to exploring options that would help increase personalisation and choice for mental health service users.
	New Horizons has been developed in collaboration with strategic health authorities and is consistent with their regional visions for mental health.

Mental Health Services

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how his Department is involving service users in designing Payment by Results for mental health.

Mike O'Brien: Service users have been involved in developing Payment by Results (PbR) for mental health at an early stage. A study by the University of Huddersfield, Exploring the Impact of a Clinical Decision Support Tool from the Perspective of Service Users  Carers (available at http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/5092), used focus groups to identify what service users thought of an early iteration of the mental health currency work. The study highlighted service users' desire to be involved in the care planning process that is linked to mental health PbR. We therefore expect, as mental health PbR is implemented, that service users will be very involved in the identification and agreement of local care packages and pathways to meet their own needs as part of care planning. User representatives will also be consulted on key aspects of the further development of the approach to PbR for mental health.

MMR Vaccine: Basingstoke

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what proportion of children in Basingstoke under the age of five years received two doses of MMR vaccine in each quarter of the last 10 years.

Gillian Merron: The Health Protection Agency (HPA) publishes quarterly data under the COVER (cover of vaccination evaluated rapidly) programme.
	Data are not available for Basingstoke itself, and the organisation responsible for primary care for Basingstoke has changed following national health service reorganisations. Up to 2002, North and Mid Hampshire health authority (HA) was responsible; for 2002 to 2006 it was North Hampshire primary care trust (PCT); and from 2006 it has been Hampshire PCT.
	
		
			  Quarter evaluated  PCT name  Number of children with 5( th)  birthday in quarter  Percentage received MMR2 by 5( th)  birthday 
			 October to December 2002 North Hampshire PCT 728 76.4 
			 January to March 2003 North Hampshire PCT 827 77.3 
			 April to June 2003 North Hampshire PCT 608 82.1 
			 July to September 2003 North Hampshire PCT 659 82.5 
			 October to December 2003 North Hampshire PCT 604 81.8 
			 January to March 2004 North Hampshire PCT 622 83.3 
			 April to June 2004 North Hampshire PCT 653 83.8 
			 July to September 2004 North Hampshire PCT 619 79.5 
			 October to December 2004 North Hampshire PCT 547 80.8 
			 January to March 2005 North Hampshire PCT 574 81.2 
			 April to June 2005 North Hampshire PCT 558 84.2 
			 July to September 2005 North Hampshire PCT 610 84.4 
			 October to December 2005 North Hampshire PCT 573 81.3 
			 January to March 2006 North Hampshire PCT 552 88.4 
			 April to June 2006 North Hampshire PCT 582 80.9 
			 July to September 2006 North Hampshire PCT 569 80.0 
			 October to December 2006 Hampshire PCT 3,415 79.4 
			 January to March 2007 Hampshire PCT 2,304 79.4 
			 April to June 2007 Hampshire PCT 2,649 79.6 
			 July to September 2007 Hampshire PCT 3,494 80.4 
			 October to December 2007 Hampshire PCT 3,461 79.4 
			 January to March 2008 Hampshire PCT 3,367 79.3 
			 April to June 2008 Hampshire PCT 3,626 83.2 
			 July to September 2008 Hampshire PCT 3,736 82.5 
			 October to December 2008 Hampshire PCT 3,642 83.0 
			 January to March 2009 Hampshire PCT 3,644 83.3 
			 April to June 2009 Hampshire PCT 3,681 84.4 
		
	
	Prior to 2002, vaccine coverage data were published annually. Annual Measles Mumps and Rubella 2 (MMR2) coverage data at age five years by HA were published by the Department's Statistics Division for the fiscal years (1 March to 31 April) 1999-2000 to 2001-02. During this period Basingstoke was part of North and Mid Hampshire HA.
	
		
			  North and Mid Hampshire HA 
			   Denominator  MMR2 coverage at five years (percentage) 
			 1999-2000 7,468 78 
			 2000-01 7,278 73 
			 2001-02 7,168 73

NHS Business Services Authority

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to withhold approval from the NHS Business Services Authority for the outsourcing of its IT and dental services contract until a full appraisal of the in-house option is conducted.

Mike O'Brien: On 27 November 2009, Ministers approved the business case for the award of the contract for the supply of dental contract support services and IT infrastructure to the NHS Business Services Authority (the Authority) to Capita Group Plc. The Authority expects to sign the contract on 14 December 2009 subject to final approval by the board of the Authority on 10 December 2009.
	In preparing its business case, the Authority examined its existing in-house capability and considered it was not capable of delivering the full set of business requirements set out in that case. In the circumstances, a further appraisal of the in-house option would not be appropriate.

NHS Direct: Marketing

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the Central Office of Information press release of 17 July 2008 entitled NHS Direct Unveils New Identity, what the cost to the public purse was of the creation of the new brand identity for NHS Direct.

Mike O'Brien: The total spend on the NHS Direct rebrand was £160,478.

NHS: Drugs

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what account will be taken of patient safety within the health impact assessment element of the overall impact assessment accompanying the forthcoming consultation on proposals to introduce automatic generic substitution; and whether the health impact assessment will be published within the overall impact assessment.

Mike O'Brien: Patient safety will be absolutely paramount in taking forward the work on generic substitution. We are currently finalising the impact assessment that will be published as part of the consultation exercise which will begin shortly.

NHS: Finance

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much each NHS trust and NHS foundation trust in England received for the provision of private patient services in the latest period for which figures are available.

Mike O'Brien: The information requested has been placed in the Library

NHS: Finance

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much debt each NHS trust in England has; and how much each NHS trust in England has spent on debt interest in each of the last three years.

Mike O'Brien: Information on the total amount owed by national health service trusts in respect of bank overdrafts, current and long-term loans, obligations under finance leases and private finance initiative (PFI) arrangements, and the interest cost in respect of these items for the last three years has been placed in the Library.

NHS: Greater London

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the financial performance of each London  (a) acute hospital trust and  (b) primary care trust.

Mike O'Brien: This information is published in the quarter, a copy of which is published on the Department website at the following location:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsStatistics/DH_087335
	A copy of this has been placed in the Library.

NHS: ICT

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what legal firms his Department used to draft the contracts for the National Programme for IT; and for what period each was contracted.

Mike O'Brien: Allen and Overy, and DLA (subsequently DLA Piper), were appointed in December 2002 to participate in the drafting and negotiation of contracts which formed the National Programme for IT, and were entered into between October 2003 and January 2004. These were the five original local service provider contracts, together with the Spine, N3 network, and e-booking (later Choose and Book) contracts.
	Since that time the Department has continued to receive legal support from DLA Piper in connection with the work of the programme. The appointment of Allen and Overy ceased in June 2006.

NHS: Procurement

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the result was of the Strategic Review of Collaborative Procurement in the NHS; and if he will publish the report of the review.

Mike O'Brien: The Strategic Review of the Collaborative Procurement Hub Programme was undertaken by Ernst and Young in the second half of 2007 and was intended to inform a wider assessment of commercial capability across the Department and the national health service. This wider assessment took place during 2008 and resulted in publication of Necessity-not Nicety, a new commercial operating model for the NHS and the Department.
	A copy of the report of the Strategic Review of the Collaborative Procurement Hub Programme presented to the Department by Ernst and Young has been placed in the Library.
	This report is also available on the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency's website, via the following link:
	www.pasa.nhs.uk/pasa/Doc.aspx?Path=[MN][SP]/NHSprocurement/National%20procurement/Strategic%20Review%20of%20CPHs_080417.pdf
	A copy of Necessity-not Nicety has also been placed in the Library:
	This document is also available on the Department's corporate website, via the following link:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_098876

NHS: Procurement

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the terms of reference are of the joint OGC and NHS Purchasing Supply Review; when the review will be completed; and whether the results of the review will be published.

Mike O'Brien: The title of the review was The Office of Government Commerce's Procurement Capability Review of the Department of Health. The final report was published by the Office of Government Commerce in November 2008.
	The terms of reference of the review have been placed in the Library.
	The following documents have already been placed in the Library:
	procurement Capability Review Programme-Department of Health
	procurement Capability Review Programme Improvement Plan-Department of Health
	OGC Procurement Capability Reviews Tranche Three Overview report

NHS: Standards

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on how many occasions he has been informed by  (a) strategic health authorities and  (b) non-departmental public bodies of (i) patient safety concerns and (ii) management failings relating to NHS trusts in the last 12 months.

Ann Keen: The Department does not routinely bring together individual pieces of information from strategic health authorities and non-departmental public bodies which might be classified as patient safety concerns and management failings and count them.

Nurses: Temporary Employment

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many bank or agency nurses are engaged by each London acute hospital trust; and what proportion this figure represents of the nursing staff in each such trust.

Ann Keen: This information is not collected centrally, but is held by individual acute trusts.

Nurses: Training

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what expenditure his Department incurred on training and professional development for nurses in the last three years.

Ann Keen: Expenditure incurred by strategic health authorities (SHAs) on training and development for nurses in the last three years is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Multi-professional education and training expenditure on nurses 
			  £ million 
			   Tuition costs  Bursary costs( 1,2)  Total costs 
			 2006-07 658.3 352.8 1,011.0 
			 2007-08 635.1 354.0 989.1 
			 2008-09 568.3 352.4 920.6 
			 (1 )Excludes Nil award holders, i.e. EU fees-only students and students whose living allowance element of the bursary has been reduced to nil after income assessment. (2) Includes the basic award, all supplementary allowances and all one-off payments, e.g. reimbursement of practice placement costs. Recoveries of bursaries are not included for students leaving a course or for fraud.  Source: SHA Quarterly financial management information systems data NHS Student Bursaries Scheme database-NHS Business Services Authority

Oesophagectomy

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to continue minimally-invasive oesophagectomy (MIO) research conducted at the Royal Devon and Exeter hospital in the event that MIO procedures are moved from that hospital to Derriford hospital.

Mike O'Brien: This is a matter for the local national health service.
	However, we are advised that the ongoing research projects into minimally invasive surgery for upper gastrointestinal (GI) cancer surgery at the Royal Devon and Exeter Foundation Trust will continue following the centralisation of upper GI cancer surgery for the South West peninsula at Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust.

Oesophagectomy

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the long-term survival rate for  (a) minimally-invasive oesophagectomy and  (b) open oesophagectomy is;
	(2)  what the mortality rate for  (a) minimally-invasive oesophagectomy and  (b) open oesophagectomy is;
	(3)  what the average recovery time for  (a) minimally-invasive oesophagectomy and  (b) open oesophagectomy is.

Mike O'Brien: Information on the recovery rate and long-term survival rate for minimally-invasive oesophagectomy and open oesophagectomy is not held centrally.
	The 30-day mortality rate for minimally-invasive oesophagectomy was 3.4 per cent. and for open oesophagectomy was 3.1 per cent. This information is from the second annual report of the National Oesophago-Gastric Cancer Audit (NOGCA), which was published in October 2009. The publication is available on the NHS Information Centre for health and social care website at
	www.ic.nhs.uk/og
	It is important to note that the second annual report's data do not cover all eligible patients as the audit does not close for submissions until February 2010, and not all eligible trusts have participated.

Patient Choice Schemes

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  who has responsibility within the NHS for judging a patient's entitlement and eligibility to use the patient transfer service;
	(2)  which NHS bodies are responsible for paying for a patient to use the patient transfer service.

Mike O'Brien: A patient's eligibility for non-emergency patient transport service (PTS) should be determined either by a health care professional or by non-clinically qualified staff who are both:
	clinically supervised and/or working within locally agreed protocols or guidelines, and
	employed by the national health service or working under contract for the NHS.
	Primary care trusts (PCTs) are responsible for commissioning ambulance services (which could include PTS) to such extent as the PCT considers necessary to meet all reasonable requirements of the area for which they are legally charged with providing services. PCTs are therefore ultimately responsible for the costs of PTS.

Plastic Surgery: Internet

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information his Department holds on the number of websites advertising botulinum toxin, fillers and other non-surgical cosmetic procedures for sale to people in England.

Mike O'Brien: The Department of Health and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) do not routinely collect information on websites advertising botulinum toxin, fillers and other non-surgical cosmetic procedures for sale to people in the United Kingdom.
	However, the MHRA regulates the advertising of medicines, including botulinum toxin products where it is a licensed medicine. The cosmetic use of Botox(r) is outside the product's licensed indications. The administration of injectable medicines such as Botox(r) (whether or not for cosmetic use) is restricted. Unless self-administered, they may only be administered by an independent practitioner or a person acting in accordance with the patient-specific directions of an independent prescriber. The MHRA will take appropriate action on receipt of any complaint about websites advertising botulinum toxin as a cosmetic treatment.

Prescription Drugs

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the spending per head on GP-prescribed  (a) tranquillisers and  (b) anti-depressants was in (i) each primary care trust area and (ii) England in each of the last three years.

Mike O'Brien: The average net ingredient cost per head of population, for each primary care trust in England, for the dispensing of prescriptions written by general practitioners for tranquillisers and anti-depressants, has been placed in the Library.
	Tranquillisers are defined as all those items appearing in paragraph 4.1.2 Anxiolytics of the British National Formulary (BNF) and anti-depressants defined as those items appearing in section 4.3 Antidepressant drugs of the BNF.
	In October 2006, there was a re-organisation of primary care trusts (PCTs) and the 303 PCTs became 152 with some being abolished, others continuing and new ones being created. It is therefore not possible to give figures per head for each PCT in 2006-07. They have therefore not been included in the response.

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 30 November 2009,  Official Report, column 547W, on prescriptions: fees and charges, how many patients have identified cancer and another condition on their FP92A application form since 1 April 2009; and how many such patients identified each other condition.

Mike O'Brien: This information is not available. The NHS Business Services Authority's processing system only captures the first ticked box on the medical exemption application form.

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when his Department expects to  (a) publish and  (b) respond to Professor Ian Gilmore's review of prescription charges.

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the report of the review by Professor Ian Gilmore into prescription charges will be published; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: Professor Gilmore has now submitted his report on the prescription charges review to the Department of Health. His recommendations are now being considered by the Department. We will publish the review's report and our response to the recommendations in the new year.

Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust: Finance

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what  (a) funding and  (b) capital funding allocation was made to each hospital site within the Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in each year since 1997.

Mike O'Brien: The information requested is a matter for the Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. We have written to Tracy Doucet, Chair of Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, informing her of the hon. Member's question. She will reply shortly and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.

Social Services

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place in the Library a copy of the working data and assumptions behind table 1 in the Impact Assessment for the Personal Care at Home Bill.

Phil Hope: The data used to produce table 1 of the Impact Assessment is from the English Longitudinal Study of Aging, Wave 3. This is a publicly available source and can be accessed at:
	www.esds.ac.uk/findingdata/snDescription.asp?sn=5050 key=sn+505
	People under the age of 65 were removed from the sample. Then a logistic model of the need for formal care was estimated on the basis of each person's age, age squared, limitations in activities of daily living (ADL dependency) and whether or not they live alone (as a proxy for receipt of informal care). Fitted values from this logit model were used to produce a continuous variable for each person's level of need. The sample was then ranked in order of their predicted need on this variable, and the needs of the top 4.7 per cent. were assumed to be critical under Fair Access to Care Services (FACS)-this uses the Personal Social Services Research Unit's approach to defining those who are FACS critical, which draws on findings in the Commission for Social Care Inspection report, 'The State of Social Care in England 2007-08', published in January 2009.
	The 204 sample members classified as FACS critical in this way were then grouped into those reporting difficulty with different total numbers of activities of daily living, as shown in table 1 of the Impact Assessment.

Social Services

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to table 2 of the Impact Assessment for the Personal Care at Home Bill, from which pages of the English Longitudinal Study of Aging Wave 3 he derived the numbers of people  (a) receiving state-funded care and  (b) making a means-tested contribution.

Phil Hope: The numbers of individuals whose needs are critical under Fair Access to Care Services (FACS) estimated to be receiving state-funded care and making a means-tested contribution are taken from the Personal Social Services Research Unit's micro-simulation model for older people.
	The estimated numbers in each of these groups have then been narrowed down to those FACS critical individuals with difficulty with four or more activities of daily living by using the percentages shown in table 1 of the Impact Assessment, which are derived from the English Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSA). They were produced by secondary analysis of the ELSA data-which are publicly available-and not drawn from a published report.

Social Services

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to table 2 of the Impact Assessment for the Personal Care at Home Bill, what methodology was used to calculate the number of people described as  (a) self-funding plus unmet need,  (b) residential care switchers and  (c) informal care switchers.

Phil Hope: The number of individuals estimated to be self-funders or those with unmet need is taken from the Personal Social Services Research Unit's micro-simulation model for older people. An extra 25 per cent. was added to both the volume and the estimated cost from their model to bring it closer into line with alternative estimates of the numbers of severely disabled older people purchasing private home care. This seemed prudent in view of the inevitable uncertainty about the impact of free care on demand and the consequent risk of under-estimating costs.
	Residential care switchers were estimated by using a simple model of the likely flows into and out of a steady state stock of individuals in residential care. It is assumed that not all individuals entering care homes under the current system will either choose or be eligible to receive personal care at home under the new system (i.e. because their needs may be too great). We do not know exactly what proportion of these individuals will choose to receive their care at home rather than enter residential care, but for illustrative purposes we have assumed a figure of 10 per cent.
	Informal care switchers were estimated by removing the 'living alone' variable from the logistic regression equation used to predict individuals' level of need for formal care and re-running the model to estimate the additional volume of individuals who would be classified as critical under Fair Access to Care Services if everybody hypothetical lived alone. We do not know what proportion of these individuals would actually have their informal care arrangements withdrawn in order to qualify for free personal care, but for illustrative purposes we have assumed a figure of 5 per cent.

Social Services

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to table 2 of the Impact Assessment for the Personal Care at Home Bill, for what reasons the figure given for informal care switchers is 50 per cent. of the estimated number of informal care switchers.

Phil Hope: We do not know how many potential informal care switchers, as estimated under assumptions detailed in the Impact Assessment, have difficulties with activities of daily living (ADLs). Therefore, we have assumed that 50 per cent. of potential switchers have difficulty with four or more ADLs-and actually switch-and 50 per cent. have difficulty with less than four ADLs and do not switch since they would not qualify for free personal care.

Social Services

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to Annex A of the Impact Assessment for the Personal Care at Home Bill, from what source the estimate that 5 per cent. of people would have informal care withheld is derived.

Phil Hope: This is a working assumption. It relates to older people whose needs are not assessed as critical under Fair Access to Care Services (FACS) while receiving informal care, but would become FACS critical if they ceased to receive informal care. Comments on its validity are welcomed as part of the consultation on regulations and guidance, Personal Care at Home: a consultation for proposals on regulation and guidance, a copy of which has already been placed in the Library.

Social Services

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to paragraph 4.5 of the Impact Assessment for the Personal Care at Home Bill, what estimate he has made of the number of people who constitute the significant number whose status will change through reablement; from what source the data underlying that estimate were derived; and what assumptions have been made in making the estimate.

Phil Hope: Studies by the Care Services Efficiency Delivery programme on reablement domiciliary care services have shown that up to 50 per cent. of older people who were offered a short term package of reablement did not require any further support at the end of their treatment(1). However, as there are uncertainties about the long-term impact of reablement on the need for care, we cannot make an accurate forecast at this current time. That is why the impact assessment does not take into account the benefits of reablement, even though these are likely to be substantial.
	(1)( ) Source:
	Department of Health, 2009: Use of Resources in Adult Social Care: a guide for local authorities.

Social Services

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to paragraph 5.25 of the Impact Assessment for the Personal Care at Home Bill, what the two supply-side failures referred to are.

Ann Keen: The supply-side failures referred to in paragraph 5.25 are the under-provision of insurance coverage and higher prices for those who do take out insurance. Insurance companies wishing to offer insurance for personal care will make an assessment of the likelihood that people will require such services and offer a product at a price based on the average probability of need.
	People who view themselves as being at a low risk of needing personal care will not be attracted by an insurance product at an average price and would only buy one at a low price. Those who see themselves as high risk will see an insurance product offered at a price based on the average probability as good value for money and are likely to purchase it.
	As a result, insurance companies are aware that an average priced policy will adversely select high-risk customers and so do not offer it. They may offer products at a higher price to reflect the higher risk of customers they do attract. In an extreme case, this could result in complete market collapse as the remaining customers respond to higher prices by deciding not to purchase insurance. In response, insurance companies raise prices further and eventually there are no purchasers left.
	In addition, insurance companies and individuals may make a different assessment of the risk of a person needing personal care, owing to their having less information about a person's risk than the individual themselves.
	Insurance companies may respond to the problem by attempting to gather information about customers to set individually tailored prices to their products. Gathering information is costly and insurance companies pass this on through higher premiums. This can be compounded if the pool of customers taking insurance becomes smaller as insurance companies have to spread their fixed costs over a small number of people, further raising the price that customers have to pay.

Social Services

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the change in the number of assessments conducted by local authorities as a result of enactment of the proposals set out in the Personal Care at Home Bill; what estimate he has made of the effect of that change on costs; and whether local authority funding would be adjusted accordingly.

Phil Hope: The costs associated with increasing numbers of assessments have been included in the administrative component of Table 2 in the impact assessment. In the absence of firm data on this, we have assumed that the average cost of an assessment is £200 and that 135,000 extra individuals will be assessed per year, giving an overall cost estimate of £27 million per year, as shown in Table 2 of the impact assessment. This has been included in the estimate overall annual costs of £670 million per year in 2011-12 prices.

Social Services

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to paragraph 5.25 of the impact assessment for the Personal Care at Home Bill, what assessment he has made of the extent to which people believe that the state will be the insurer of last resort.

Phil Hope: Paragraph 5.25 of the impact assessment discusses the lack of a private insurance market for personal care services and the reasons why this may be the case. One of the reasons for this may be that individuals believe that the welfare state acts as a safety net for them and so they do not need to make provision for themselves. The Government have not attempted to quantify this specifically.

Social Services

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to paragraph 5.27 of the impact assessment for the Personal Care at Home Bill, how many times impact assessments conducted by his Department have cited websites.

Phil Hope: The information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Social Services

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what  (a) factors he took into account and  (b) research his Department undertook in determining the scope of his legislative proposals relating to personal care.

Phil Hope: The factors taken into account are set out in the impact assessment, which was published with the current consultation document, Personal Care at Home: a consultation on proposals for regulations and guidance. Both documents are available on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Consultations/Liveconsultations/DH_109139
	Copies have already been placed in the Library.
	As set out in the impact assessment, the research undertaken in the English Longitudinal Study of Aging identifies the potential number of people living at home who may qualify for free personal care.

Social Services

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to paragraph 6.2 of the impact assessment for the Personal Care at Home Bill, for what reason the distributional effect of providing insurance cover is included in the impact assessment.

Phil Hope: The impact assessment discusses a range of benefits of the proposals. One benefit is the distributional effect of providing free personal care to those in highest need, the beneficiaries of which are a sub-section of the population. A second benefit is the extension of Government-provided insurance to cover free personal care to those in highest need. The population as a whole derives a benefit from the extension as people know with certainty they will receive free personal care if they find themselves in need, as set out in the proposal.

Social Services

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has made an estimate of the average volume of carbon dioxide emissions arising from reablement schemes as set out in the Personal Care at Home Bill.

Phil Hope: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 9 December 2009,  Official Report, column 497W.

Social Services

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to paragraph 6.3 of the impact assessment for the Personal Care at Home Bill, how many impact assessments conducted by his Department since 1997 have included mitigation of the general reluctance to pay taxes.

Phil Hope: The information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Social Services

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to paragraph 7.5 of the impact assessment for the Personal Care at Home Bill, what estimate he has made of the differences in levels of informal care provided by different care settings.

Phil Hope: Paragraph 7.5 of the impact assessment sets out current thinking. An equality impact assessment screening has been undertaken and published with the consultation document, Personal care at home: a consultation on proposals for regulations and guidance. Both documents are available on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Consultations/Liveconsultations/DH_ 109139
	Copies have already been placed in the Library.
	A full equality impact assessment will be undertaken prior to the implementation of the policy.

Social Services

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the impact assessment for the Personal Care at Home Bill, if he will publish in full modelling commissioned by his Department from the Personal Social Services Research Unit.

Phil Hope: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to him on 10 December 2009,  Official Report, column 552W, on social services.

Social Services

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent revisions have been made to the financial assumptions underpinning the Government's financial modelling for a National Care Service as a result of the pledge that there will be no cash losers amongst existing disability benefit recipients.

Phil Hope: None. As we said in the Green Paper Shaping the future of care and support together, if we reform disability benefits, anyone receiving an affected benefit at the time of reform would continue to receive the equivalent level of support and protection.
	Our working assumptions in the financial modelling have consistently been that nobody will experience a cash loss as a result of the reforms.

South East Coast Strategic Health Authority

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the capitation cost of the chairman of the South East Coast strategic health authority was in the last year for which figures are available; and how many days she spent working for the authority in that year.

Gillian Merron: The chair of the South East Coast strategic health authority (SHA) was appointed from 1 May 2009 with remuneration at the national rate set by the Government of £46,131 for 2009-10. The chair committed to working at least three days a week for the SHA.

South East Coast Strategic Health Authority: Expenditure

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the  (a) budgeted and  (b) outturn expenditure of the NHS South East Coast health authority was in each of the last four years.

Gillian Merron: The following table shows the revenue resource limit and net operating costs for the South East Coast strategic health authority (SHA). The revenue resource limit represents the total amount of revenue expenditure that an SHA can incur during the financial year. Net operating costs represent the total net revenue expenditure actually incurred by the SHA during the financial year. For 2005-06, we have provided data for the two predecessor SHAs: Kent and Medway SHA and Surrey and Sussex SHA.
	
		
			  SHA revenue resource limit and net operating costs 
			  SHA name   Revenue resource limit (£000)  Net operating costs (£000) 
			 Kent and Medway SHA 2005-06 92,099 76,657 
			 Surrey and Sussex SHA 2005-06 137,733 125,774 
			 South East Coast SHA 2006-07 252,490 222,113 
			 South East Coast SHA 2007-08 314,176 278,034 
			 South East Coast SHA 2008-09 313,025 273,049 
			  Note: South East Coast SHA was created on 1 July 2006 from the merger of Surrey and Sussex SHA and Kent and Medway SHA.  Source: SHA Audited Summarisation Schedules 2005-06 to 2008-09.

South East Coast Strategic Health Authority: Pay

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the salary of the chief executive of the NHS South East Coast health authority is.

Gillian Merron: Information about the remuneration of the chief executive of the South East Coast strategic health authority (SHA) is available in the SHA's Annual Report 2008-09, a copy of which has been placed in the Library.

Surgery: Technology

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he plans to refer the CyberKnife robotic radiosurgery system to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence for evaluation.

Mike O'Brien: We have no such plans. Stakeholders can submit topic suggestions for National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidance through the NICE website at:
	www.nice.org.uk/getinvolved/suggestatopic/suggest_a_topic.jsp
	We understand that the National Radiotherapy Implementation Group is considering whether it would be helpful to develop guidance for the national health service on the use of stereotactic radiotherapy more generally.

Swine Flu: Vaccination

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the answer of 5 November 2009,  Official Report, column 1183W, on swine flu: vaccination, what criteria his Department provided to Morianto in respect of the distribution of the swine flu vaccine.

Gillian Merron: The initial distribution of vaccine was targeted at acute and other national health service trusts for health care workers' vaccination. A box of GlaxoSmithKline vaccine was then distributed to general practitioner (GP) surgeries across the country so that the vaccination of clinical risk groups could start. Subsequently, primary care trusts have been able to order vaccine for GP surgeries and NHS organisations, based on the population they are responsible for.

Therapy: Domestic Violence

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the Home Department's Together we can end violence against women and girls strategy, how much his Department plans to spend on the pilot site of the Multisystemic Therapy Programme at the Brandon Centre in North London in  (a) 2009-10,  (b) 2010-11 and  (c) each of the subsequent three years; and from what budget such expenditure will be drawn.

Ann Keen: The Department is co-funding the Multisystemic Therapy Programme for Problem Sexual Behaviour at the Brandon Centre for a three-year period from 2009-10 to 2011-12. This funding amounts to £250,000 in 2009-10 and £300,000 in both 2010-11 and 2011-12. There is currently no commitment to funding from the Department after this date.
	This commitment to develop pilot sites of Multisystemic Therapy was made originally in the 2007 Social Exclusion Action Plan, Action 20, and is drawn from the Department's Health Inequalities and Partnerships Directorate budget, with additional funding provided by the Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Youth Justice Board.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Anti-Semitism

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government plan to take to monitor and seek to reduce levels of anti-Semitism overseas; and if he will make a statement. [R]

Ivan Lewis: The Government are committed to tackling anti-Semitism. We condemn all instances of persecution and discrimination against individuals and groups wherever they occur.
	All the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's overseas missions have a responsibility to monitor and raise human rights in their host countries. We have taken a number of measures to tackle anti-Semitism, many of them in response to the report of the All-Party Parliamentary Inquiry into anti-Semitism, commissioned by John Mann MP and published in 2006. These include supporting the International Task Force for Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research, to help educate young people around the world about the destructiveness of hate; working through embassies worldwide to support efforts to tackle anti-Semitism; and working through mulitlateral fora, including the UN, EU, Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the Council of Europe.

Australia: Anti-Semitism

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received of incidents of anti-Semitism in Australia; whether he has had recent discussions with the Government of Australia on that matter; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: I am aware of the recent release of a report by Jeremy Jones of the Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council at the annual meeting of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry held in Sydney on 29 November 2009 highlighting a reported increase in anti-Semitic incidents. The report also indicated that Australians are fundamentally tolerant and opposed to discrimination, vilification or harassment of Jews and other segments of the population. The Australian Government were also highlighted as making significant developments to address this issue over the last 20 years.
	The Government are committed to tackling anti-Semitism. We condemn all instances of persecution and discrimination against individuals and groups wherever they occur. All the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's overseas missions have a responsibility to monitor and raise human rights in their host countries.

Colombia: Trade Unions

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of the number of trade unionists murdered in Colombia in the last 12 months; what steps he is taking to assist the Colombian Government to reduce this figure; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Bryant: holding answer 10 December 2009
	We see a variety of reports from different sources on the number of trade unionists murdered in Colombia. The bottom line is that one trade union murder is one too many and the level of violence and human rights abuse in Colombia is unacceptable.
	The Government support the work of human rights defenders in Colombia through a range of projects. Projects approved for this financial year and beyond total around £1 million; two of these specifically help tackle impunity and three are aimed at strengthening the position of human rights defenders. We are also working with the UN on a research initiative to help improve the protection of trade union human rights and the development of positive labour relations.
	Our embassy staff in Colombia meet with many who have received threats, and we will continue to do so in line with EU guidelines on human rights defenders.
	I raised our concerns with President Uribe when I visited Colombia in October 2009, and I made a joint statement with Foreign Minister Bermúdez declaring;
	the defence of human rights is necessary and legitimate for democracy, and in a country such as Colombia, which takes pride in being completely open and ready to accept international security in this area.
	We welcome these public statements from the highest levels of the Colombian Government.

Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has made an assessment of the findings of the UN report on allegations of illegal funding of the FDLR on an international scale; and whether he plans to raise the matter of such allegations in the UN Security Council.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 8 December 2009
	The UN Group of Experts' report, which among other things considers external funding of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), makes a valuable contribution to the overall efforts of the international community to help deal with the problems of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The report is frank, independent and fearless, and the Group of Experts have set out their findings and thinking clearly and cogently. We commend them on their work.
	The UK has worked closely with the UN Security Council (UNSC) on the DRC sanctions regime. The UNSC agreed unanimously in November to renew and expand the DRC sanctions regime. This is legally binding for all UN member states and represents another step forward in terms of international action to disrupt and deter those who support armed groups and facilitate the continuing conflict in the Great Lakes region.
	The UK is committed to the UN sanctions regime. We will not hesitate to support sanctions against any person or company-including those based in the UK-against whom there is sufficient evidence to do so.

Departmental Legislation

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the outcome was of his Department's analysis of responses to the public consultation on possible legislation in respect of the overseas operations of private military and security companies.

Ivan Lewis: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office launched a public consultation on the Government's proposed policy to promote high standards of conduct in the private military and security companies industry internationally on 24 April 2009.
	We received detailed responses from over 20 organisations and individuals. Officials have analysed these in detail. We aim to publish the final summary of responses, including a Government response to the contributions received, as soon as possible.

Departmental Manpower

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of staff of his Department who  (a) have been employed in the middle east and south Asia in (i) 2008 and (ii) 2009 and  (b) will be employed in that area in each of the next five years.

Ivan Lewis: There were 257 diplomatic staff positions (not including UK Trade and Industry staff) in the middle east and south Asia in 2008. This number increased to 289 in 2009.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) prioritises its resources where they are most needed in order to deliver its departmental strategic objectives and we aim to respond quickly to any new priorities by moving existing staff resources to new locations when necessary. As such, it is not possible to estimate the number of staff that will be employed in the middle east and south Asia in each of the next five years.
	While we do not envisage the number changing substantially, much will hinge on the FCO's future Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) settlement (covering financial years 2011-12 to 2013-14.

Departmental Property

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department spent on gilding in the most recent 12 months for which figures are available.

Chris Bryant: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has a responsibility to maintain our historic listed buildings in accordance with the requirements of leases and English Heritage. As part of an ongoing programme of redecoration and refurbishment work £5,299 was spent in the last 12 months on gilding in the State Dining Room at Lancaster House in accordance with lease requirements. This room is used throughout the year for hosting official functions for all Government Departments.

Departmental Security

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many security passes his Department has issued to contractors providing consultancy services in the last 12 months.

Chris Bryant: 2,520 security passes were issued to contractors in the last 12 months. To identify which of these contractors provided consultancy services would incur disproportionate cost.

Honduras: Politics and Government

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what observations were made by UK representatives of the presidential election in Honduras on 29 November 2009; and what recognition the UK will afford to the Government formed by any of the candidates who participated.

Chris Bryant: holding answer 10 December 2009
	 No UK representatives travelled to Honduras to observe the presidential elections in Honduras on 29 November 2009, and no official EU election observation mission was deployed. We understand that approximately 300 international observers attended polling stations on election day and two election experts from the European Commission were in-country at the time of the elections.
	Prior to the elections we made clear our belief that the democratically elected President, Manuel Zelaya, had to be returned to office. We note that the elections, although carried out under abnormal circumstances, were held in a largely peaceful manner. The UK, and our EU partners, will continue to encourage all parties to work towards full implementation of the San José/Tegucigalpa Accord and restoration of constitutional democratic order in the country.

Honduras: Politics and Government

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his Department provided assistance to international missions to monitor the conduct of the recent presidential election in Honduras.

Chris Bryant: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office did not send any observers to the presidential elections in Honduras on 29 November 2009, nor did we provide any assistance to other international observation missions deployed there. Two experts from the European Commission were present during the elections, but this did not constitute a formal EU election observation mission. Following the elections, the EU issued a statement on 1 December 2009 which expressed regret that the Tegucigalpa/San José Accord was not fully implemented ahead of the elections, therefore leading to an electoral process under abnormal circumstances. The UK notes that the elections were held in a largely peaceful manner, but continues to call for the full implementation of the negotiated agreement and the restoration of constitutional, democratic order in the country.

Illegal Immigrants: Deportation

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to the comments of the Minister for Care Services in Progress magazine on 26 March 2008, how many foreign nationals have been deported because they were in the country illegally in each year since 1997.

Phil Woolas: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested is available on the UK Border Agency website.
	The Home Office publishes information on the individuals removed or deported voluntarily from the UK on a quarterly and annual basis, which are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office's Research, Development and Statistics website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html

Members: Correspondence

John Penrose: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he will reply to the hon. Member for Weston-Super-Mare's letters of 25 August, 1 October and 2 November 2009 on behalf of his constituent Mr. John Dunster.

Ivan Lewis: I replied to the hon. Member for Weston-super-Mare's letters on 9 December 2009.

Middle East

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Prime Minister plans to visit  (a) Gaza and  (b) Israel, including the Karni crossing.

Ivan Lewis: My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has no plans for such a visit.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of the discovery by Israel Defence Forces (IDF) of three explosive devices in the West Bank on Thursday 3 December; whether he  (a) has given and  (b) plans to give assistance to the IDF to prevent terrorist attacks in Israel; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: We have received no such reports and the Israel Defence Forces have not asked for assistance. The UK has long made clear that terrorist violence is unacceptable. We shall continue to call on all armed groups to renounce the use of violence.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received of the number of rockets held by Hezbollah in Lebanon that are capable of reaching  (a) Haifa,  (b) Tel Aviv and  (c) other locations in Israel; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: There are no reliable estimates of Hezbollah weaponry and the precise number of rockets with what potential ranges.
	The latest report from the UN Secretary General on UN Security Council Resolution 1701 however, highlighted that Hezbollah continues to maintain a substantial military capacity distinct from that of the Lebanese state. This is available on the UN website at
	http://www.un.org/Docs/sc/sgrep09.htm

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Government of Israel on  (a) the use of sand pits to hold Palestinian detainees and  (b) the transfer into detention within Israel of Palestinian detainees (i) during and (ii) following Operation Cast Lead.

Ivan Lewis: We closely monitor Israeli detention operations and the situation of Palestinian prisoners. We will continue to emphasise to the Israeli authorities the importance of ensuring their legal processes are in accordance with international law and democratic norms.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the conclusion of the report of the UN fact finding mission on the Gaza conflict in respect of the blockade of Gaza.

Ivan Lewis: We have stated the Government position on the Goldstone report on a number of occasions. Some aspects of the report were flawed-particularly its failure to acknowledge fully Israel's right to defend herself, and the inadequate attention paid to Hamas' actions. However, the issues raised by the report were very serious, and they should be credibly and independently investigated.
	We have also been clear on our position on Israeli restrictions on access through the Gaza crossings. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister raised this with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on 14 October 2009. EU Foreign Ministers called for an immediate, sustained and unconditional opening of crossings in conclusions on 8 December 2009, which are available at:
	http://www.se2009.eu/polopoly_fs/1.27026!menu/standard/file/111829.pdf

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the blockade of Gaza by  (a) HM Ambassador to Israel and  (b) HM Consul General to the Palestinian Authority; and on what date each most recently visited Gaza.

Ivan Lewis: We receive regular reports about the current situation in Gaza from both our ambassador to Israel and our consul-general in Jerusalem.
	Our consul-general in Jerusalem regularly visits Gaza for meetings at the British Information and Services Office. His most recent visit was on 1 December 2009.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what advice he has received on whether  (a) Israel,  (b) Hamas and  (c) Egypt are in breach of the terms of UN Security Council Resolution 1860; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: UN Security Council resolution 1860 is clear in its call for a durable ceasefire; the unimpeded provision and distribution throughout Gaza of humanitarian assistance; and the prevention of illicit arms trafficking throughout Gaza.
	Despite this, Hamas rocket attacks continue-they must stop immediately.
	Our position on Israeli restrictions on access through the Gaza crossings is well known. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister raised this with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on 14 October 2009. EU Foreign Ministers called for an immediate, sustained and unconditional opening of crossings in conclusions on 8 December 2009, which are available at:
	http://www.se2009.eu/polopoly_fs/1.27026!menu/standard/file/111829.pdf
	We have made clear our support for Egyptian-sponsored efforts to build a non-partisan, technocratic Palestinian Government, which would be capable of working productively with the international community. These Egyptian efforts continue.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effects of the Gaza blockade on efforts to reach peace in the middle east.

Ivan Lewis: We regularly press Israel to ease restrictions at the Gaza crossings and permit the legitimate flow of humanitarian and reconstruction materials, trade goods and people into Gaza. We urge Israel to do so immediately, regardless of broader peace negotiations.
	The UK continues to vigorously pursue a comprehensive peace based on a two-state solution involving a viable Palestinian state living alongside Israel in peace and security.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he plans to take to end the blockade of Gaza.

Ivan Lewis: We will continue to press the Israeli authorities, both at an official and ministerial level, to ease border restrictions into Gaza and allow the passage of essential humanitarian aid and reconstruction material. These concerns were recently highlighted at the EU Foreign Ministers Meeting on 8 December 2009. The EU Foreign Affairs Council conclusions are available at:
	http://www.se2009.eu/polopoly_fs/1.27026!menu/standard/file/111829.pdf

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last requested the Israeli government to end the blockade of Gaza.

Ivan Lewis: We have consistently pressed Israel to ease restrictions and allow the flow of essential humanitarian aid and reconstruction material into Gaza. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary raised this issue during his conversation with the Israeli Foreign Minister on 25 November 2009.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the  (a) number of rockets or mortars fired from the Gaza strip into Israel and  (b) injuries resulting from such attacks in each of the last four quarters.

Ivan Lewis: According to the Israeli Foreign Ministry there were 762 rocket and mortar attacks during Operation Cast Lead, and 193 attacks between the ceasefire on 18 January and 8 December 2009.
	There have been no Israeli fatalities since the ceasefire. We do not have figures concerning causalities.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on  (a) the number of incidents of (i) Israeli military incursions, (ii) rocket mortar or tank fire from Israel into Gaza, (iii) bombing and (iv) sound bombs in each of the last four quarters and  (b) fatalities and injuries that have resulted.

Ivan Lewis: We are unable to establish the total number of incidents in Gaza involving the Israeli Defence Forces in 2009.
	However, according to the UN, since the end of Operation Cast Lead, a total of 85 Palestinians have been killed and 134 others injured in the context of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions in 2009 at the Erez crossing  (a) British and  (b) EU diplomats were shot at by Israeli or Palestinian forces; and what steps the Government have taken to reduce the risk of such incidents in future.

Ivan Lewis: There have been two incidents which have involved Israeli Defence Forces firing warning shots at diplomatic officials. One incident involved an official from the British consulate-general in Jerusalem and the second an official from an EU consulate-general in Jerusalem. We have discussed our concerns with the Israeli authorities.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether HM Ambassador to Israel plans to  (a) support and  (b) attend the Gaza freedom march on 31 December 2009.

Ivan Lewis: Our ambassador to Israel has no plans to attend the Gaza freedom march on 31 December 2009. We advise against all travel to Gaza. Despite the ceasefires continuing to hold, they are fragile and tensions remain extremely high.
	We remain gravely concerned about the humanitarian situation in Gaza and continue to urge the Israeli authorities to ease restrictions at the crossings and implement UN Security Council Resolution 1860 fully.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions  (a) he and  (b) his representatives have had with the UN Secretary-General on the publication of the UN Secretary-General's report on the cost of damages to UN buildings and equipment in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead; and whether he has asked the UN Secretary-General to (i) publish his report and (ii) seek damages from the parties responsible.

Ivan Lewis: The Government were deeply concerned by reports of incidents involving UN property/personnel during the Gaza conflict. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon set up the UN Board of Inquiry to investigate certain incidents involving UN property/personnel during the Gaza conflict. The board reported back on 5 May 2009. The UN Secretariat are taking this forward directly with the Israeli Government.
	It is for the UN Secretary-General to decide whether or not to make public anything further on this matter.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions  (a) he and  (b) the Prime Minister have raised Gaza access issues with their Israeli counterparts; and on what occasions the Israeli Government has acceded to requests for access in the last 12 months.

Ivan Lewis: The UK regularly urges Israel to reduce restrictions at the Gaza crossings and to allow the legitimate flow of humanitarian and reconstruction materials, trade goods, and people.
	My right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary last raised Gaza access issues with their Israeli counterparts on 14 October 2009 and 25 November 2009 respectively.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on Israeli controls on access to Gaza.

Ivan Lewis: Middle East issues, including Gaza, were discussed in depth at the EU Foreign Ministers meeting on 8 December 2009. The relevant section of their conclusions reads:
	Gravely concerned about the situation in Gaza, the Council urges the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1860 and the full respect of international humanitarian law. In this context, the continued policy of closure is unacceptable and politically counterproductive. It has devastated the private sector economy and damaged the natural environment, notably water and other natural resources. The EU again reiterates its calls for an immediate, sustained and unconditional opening of crossings for the flow of humanitarian aid, commercial goods and persons to and from Gaza. In this context, the Council calls for the full implementation of the Agreement on Movement and Access. While extremists stand to gain from the current situation, the civilian population, half of which are under the age of 18, suffers. Fully recognising Israel's legitimate security needs, the Council continues to call for a complete stop to all violence and arms smuggling into Gaza. The Council calls on those holding the abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit to release him without delay.

Middle East: Diplomatic Service

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to his statement in  The Sunday Times of 6 January 2008, when he expects the planned increase in numbers of diplomatic staff in the middle east and south Asia to have been completed.

Ivan Lewis: The planned increase in numbers of diplomatic staff (not including UK Trade and Industry staff) took place throughout the last financial year (April 2008 to March 2009). This saw an extra 32 front line staff deployed across the middle east and south Asia.

Middle East: Peace Negotiations

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the part the Government are playing in the middle east peace process.

Ivan Lewis: The UK continues to pursue vigorously a two-state solution. We support the Palestinian Authority in building the institutions of a future Palestinian state. We speak out to discourage acts which undermine the prospects of peace. And we strongly support the US effort to restart peace negotiations.
	There is more consensus in the international community than there has been for many years about the basis for a resolution of the dispute between Israel and the Palestinians. We are continuing to support the efforts of the US Administration who are engaged in a good-faith endeavour to bridge the gap. We will continue to support those efforts, because the alternatives for the people of Israel, Palestine and the rest of the region look so much worse.

South Caucasus Group

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he next plans to visit the South Caucasus group of countries to discuss  (a) bi-lateral relations and  (b) broader global issues.

Chris Bryant: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has no current plans to visit the region. Baroness Kinnock visited Georgia in June 2009 and met with President Aliyev when he came to the UK in July 2009. In recent months Ministers and senior officials have also had a series of meetings in London with counterparts from the South Caucasus, including the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Georgia, Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia and Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan. I hope to visit the region soon.

UN Committee on the Rights of the Child

John Howell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions the UK delegation to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has included a Minister since 1997.

Chris Bryant: holding answer 10 December 2009
	None. The UK's report on the implementation of the convention, and its optional protocols, was last examined by the Committee in 2008, when a senior official from the Department of Children, Schools and Families led the delegation.

UN Committee on the Rights of the Child

John Howell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions a Minister has appeared before the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child to discuss the UK's report as a state party to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child since 1997.

Chris Bryant: holding answer 10 December 2009
	None. The UK's report on the implementation of the convention, and its optional protocols, was last examined by the Committee in 2008, when a senior official from the Department of Children Schools, and Families led the delegation.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Attendance Allowance

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  whether all  (a) existing and  (b) future claimants of (i) attendance allowance and (ii) disability living allowance over the age of 65 years will have the option of continuing to be able to receive their benefits in cash via a direct payment from a future National Care Service;
	(2)  whether  (a) existing and  (b) future claimants of (i) attendance allowance and (ii) disability living allowance over the age of 65 years will need to agree care plans in order to access the equivalent level of support.

Jonathan R Shaw: If disability benefits for older people are reformed as part of the introduction of the National Care Service, people receiving the affected benefits at the time of reform will continue to receive the same level of cash support. We do not anticipate that these people will need to agree a care plan in order to access this cash support.
	As we said in the Green Paper, if we were to draw some disability benefits for older people into the new National Care Service, we would create a new offer for individuals with care needs. This support would be delivered in line with the best principles of benefits; a system that is consistent across the country, providing flexible methods of payment through personal budgets and investment in prevention.

Christmas Bonus

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the  (a) value in current prices and  (b) cost of the Christmas bonus was in each year since its introduction.

Angela Eagle: The response is in the following table:
	
		
			   Value of Christmas bonus award (£, 2009-10 prices)  Total Christmas bonus expenditure (£, cash terms)  Total Christmas bonus expenditure (£ million, 2009-10 prices) 
			 1972-73 98 81 773 
			 1973-74 90 80 714 
			 1974-75 77 92 688 
			 1975-76 - 0 1 
			 1976-77 - 0 0 
			 1977-78 46 98 453 
			 1978-79 42 101 420 
			 1979-80 37 101 360 
			 1980-81 31 103 310 
			 1981-82 28 107 294 
			 1982-83 26 108 277 
			 1983-84 25 109 267 
			 1984-85 24 111 258 
			 1985-86 22 112 247 
			 1986-87 22 115 246 
			 1987-88 21 116 234 
			 1988-89 20 118 222 
			 1989-90 18 121 213 
			 1990-91 17 122 199 
			 1991-92 16 125 193 
			 1992-93 15 128 192 
			 1993-94 15 136 198 
			 1994-95 15 136 195 
			 1995-96 14 139 194 
			 1996-97 14 144 194 
			 1997-98 14 139 182 
			 1998-99 13 140 180 
			 1999-2000 13 134 169 
			 2000-01 13 135 168 
			 2001-02 12 136 166 
			 2002-03 12 137 162 
			 2003-04 12 141 161 
			 2004-05 11 142 159 
			 2005-06 11 143 156 
			 2006-07 11 145 154 
			 2007-08 10 147 153 
			 2008-09 69 1,047 1,057 
			  Notes:  1. Total expenditure figures have been rounded to the nearest million and are given in both cash terms and 2009-10 prices deflated by the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) deflator.  2. The values of the Christmas bonus awards are rounded to the nearest pound and are given in 2009-10 prices deflated by the Retail Prices Index for the 3rd quarter each year.  3. Total expenditure for 2008-09 reflects the latest forecast outturn at the time Budget 2009 was published.  4. The Christmas bonus was first paid in 1972-73.  5. The Christmas bonus was not paid in 1975-76 or 1976-77.  6. Expenditure in 1975-76 relates to small amounts of expenditure due at Christmas 1974.  7. The 2008-09 figures for the Christmas bonus include the normal £10 payment and the pre-Budget report 2008 measure of an additional one-off payment of £60 to ail Christmas bonus recipients.

Employment and Support Allowance

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the answer of 11 November 2009,  Official Report, columns 779-80W, on employment and support allowance, how many and what proportion of work capability assessments for claimants of employment and support allowance have been completed  (a) between three and four,  (b) between four and five,  (c) between five and six and  (d) over six months after the 13-week period from the start of their claim in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer on 23 November 2009
	My response to your previous question on 11 November 2009,  Official Report , columns 779-80W, explained how 46 per cent. of completed work capability assessments for employment and support allowance claimants were completed within 13 weeks.
	The previous reply also stated that the latest reliable cohort of employment and support allowance claims were for claims starting in April 2009. We use this cohort to estimate Atos-advice timings of the assessment process:
	There were 8,900 (34 per cent.) completed between three and four months.
	An additional 3,800 (15 per cent.) were completed between four and five months.
	An additional 1,300 (5 per cent.) were completed between five and six months.
	None were completed after six months.
	 Note:
	Figures are rounded to the nearest 100 and percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number.
	Customers are able to backdate their claims to before they first contacted Jobcentre Plus. For incapacity benefit this was for an average of two weeks, and it is expected that this will be the same for employment and support allowance. Therefore, the figures above show the actual time between when the claim was made and the completed work capability assessment taking place, and not the true time that Jobcentre Plus and Atos have to work on cases which may be shorter.
	A more accurate reflection of the amount of cases that pass through the process would be determined by taking into account factors, such as, the time taken to return paperwork, whether their condition can be assessed on paper based evidence alone, whether further medical evidence is required or requested and whether a customer actually attends their initial appointment or it has to be re-scheduled. This information is not currently available but we will continue to undertake analysis of performance as the employment and support allowance regime beds in.

Employment and Support Allowance: Mentally Ill

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of employment support allowance claimants who cite mental health problems as their primary reason for claiming and who have been placed in the work-related activity group, have been referred to specialist mental health providers.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 30 November 2009
	The information requested is not available.

Employment and Support Allowance: Telephone Services

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether her Department has carried out a disability equality impact assessment for the telephone script it uses for employment and support allowance applications.

Jonathan R Shaw: The employment and support allowance project was disability equality impact assessed. The claim process for employment and support allowance does not involve using a fully scripted computer system therefore this will not have been impact assessed.

Employment Services: Autism

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  when her Department plans to extend autism awareness training to all disability employment advisers at Jobcentre Plus;
	(2)  what training in autism awareness personal advisers at Jobcentre Plus receive.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 10 December 2009
	The administration of Jobcentre Plus is the responsibility of the chief executive, Darra Singh. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Darra Singh:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions asking what training in autism awareness personal advisers at Jobcentre Plus receive and when her Department plans to extend autism awareness training to all Disability Employment Advisers at Jobcentre Plus. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Personal Advisers at Jobcentre Plus receive training that includes a general awareness of disability and disability issues. Additionally, this provides an understanding of the specialist roles so that staff are aware of the links with Disability Employment Advisers.
	Jobcentre Plus policy is to develop its advisers in the skills required to manage a range of customers and to respect their individual needs, covering a variety of health conditions. The learning programme for Jobcentre Plus advisers focuses on raising awareness of customers' personal circumstances and the impact this may have on their ability to move into sustainable employment. Advisers are signposted to guide notes which include background information on a number of conditions, including Autistic Spectrum Condition, the implications for interviews and how to use questioning techniques in order to support customers.
	Disability Employment Advisers, who focus on customers needing more extensive support, receive further levels of skills training appropriate to their customers, including skills practice in interviewing customers with Autistic Spectrum Condition. In addition, advisers including Disability Employment Advisers can seek help from their Work Psychologist colleagues to assist them in supporting customers where appropriate. All Jobcentres have access to Disability Employment Adviser services, either by being located within the Jobcentre or for example in more rural areas access to peripatetic Disability Employment Advisers who provide services across a number of locations.
	I can advise you that all Disability Employment Advisers currently receive autism awareness as part of the standard training programme that they receive when they take on this role. I can also confirm that autism awareness will continue to be included in training for any future Disability Employment Advisers.

Housing Benefit

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate she has made of the cost to landlords of the introduction of direct payment of local housing allowance in  (a) 2009-10 and  (b) each of the subsequent five years.

Helen Goodman: The information is not available.

Housing Benefit

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claimants in each broad market rental area receive local housing allowance in excess of  (a) £385 and  (b) £965 per week.

Helen Goodman: holding answer 10 December 2009
	Local housing allowance information is not available at broad market rental area level.
	There are fewer than 100 people getting housing benefit of £1,000 or more under the local housing allowance arrangements-that represents just 0.01 per cent. of the total local housing allowance caseload.

Housing Benefit

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was paid in housing benefit on average to each recipient in each region in each of the last five years.

Helen Goodman: The most recent available information is in the tables.
	
		
			  Average weekly amount of housing benefit by Government office region: August 2005 to August 2007 
			  £ 
			   2005  2006  2007 
			 Great Britain 63.64 67.47 71.44 
			 North East 49.98 52.40 55.76 
			 North West 55.38 57.98 61.48 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 50.82 53.51 56.40 
			 East Midlands 51.93 56.95 58.35 
			 West Midlands 55.84 58.85 63.12 
			 East 63.35 67.18 70.98 
			 London 97.10 103.62 109.15 
			 South East 72.74 76.34 79.93 
			 South West 62.18 65.51 69.30 
			 Wales 53.53 56.15 59.90 
			 Scotland 48.56 51.88 56.11 
		
	
	
		
			  Average weekly amount of housing benefit by Government office region: November 2008 to August 2009 
			  £ 
			   2008  2009 
			 Great Britain 76.79 81.41 
			 North East 60.82 65.21 
			 North West 66.66 70.90 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 61.11 64.75 
			 East Midlands 63.52 67.34 
			 West Midlands 68.40 71.87 
			 East 76.28 81.17 
			 London 116.59 123.68 
			 South East 85.49 90.72 
			 South West 74.34 78.73 
			 Wales 64.37 68.50 
			 Scotland 59.70 62.69 
			  Notes:  1. The data refer to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple.  2. The figures have been rounded to the nearest penny.   Source:  Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System Quarterly 100 per cent. taken in August 2005, August 2006, August 2007. Single Housing Benefit Extract (SHBE) taken in November 2008 and August 2009.

Housing Benefit

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discretion local authorities have to make direct payments to landlords through housing-related benefits.

Helen Goodman: Under the local housing allowance rules for calculating housing benefit, local authorities may pay housing benefit directly to landlords in the following circumstances:
	when they consider that the tenant is unlikely to pay their rent; or
	when they consider that the tenant is likely to have difficulty in managing their financial affairs; or
	when payments have previously been made in the same award directly to the landlord because the tenant was in 8 or more weeks of arrears of rent; or
	as a one-off payment where the tenant has moved leaving arrears of rent.
	For housing benefit claims that are not assessed and paid under the local housing allowance rules, there are circumstances when the local authority may consider paying landlords directly:
	as a one-off payment of arrears when a customer has left an address leaving arrears of rent;
	at the customer's request or with his consent; or
	without the customer's consent if it is in the interest of the customer and their family.
	Where a customer has accrued rent arrears of eight weeks or more payment of housing benefit must be paid direct to the landlord.

In Work Credit

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of eligible lone parents have received the in-work credit since it was introduced.

Helen Goodman: Since the introduction of in-work credit in April 2004 to March 2009, 134,000 lone parents have taken up this form of support.
	We cannot estimate the take up rate as a proportion of all eligible lone parents because to qualify for in- work credit the lone parent must work at least 16 hours per week, and we do not hold data on the number of hours lone parents work when they leave benefit.

Mortgages: Preseli

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have received assistance through the Support for Mortgage Interest scheme in Preseli Pembrokeshire constituency since the scheme was launched.

Helen Goodman: Information on mortgage interest repayments is not available at constituency level.

Pension Credit

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps her Department has taken to publicise the rise in the savings disregard for pension credit to £10,000.

Angela Eagle: We have taken forward a number of measures to ensure people are aware of this change. In early November when the change took place we issued a press notice and contacted national, regional, online and specialist media to increase awareness. Coverage was achieved in a range of media including the  Daily Mirror, The Guardian ,  T he Sunday Times and the moneysavingexpert.com website which has a monthly audience of 8.1 million.
	Guidance was issued to staff to inform pension credit applicants who were unsuccessful on capital grounds in advance of the rule change in November; we have also worked with key stakeholders so that they understand the changes.
	Those already receiving pension credit and who benefited from the change were also notified of the change and its impact on their award.
	In addition information has been incorporated in relevant pension credit leaflets and the online tool, 'The Pension Credit calculator'.

Pension Credit/Winter Fuel Payments

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners were in a household in receipt of  (a) pension credit and  (b) winter fuel allowance in each London local authority area in 2008-09.

Angela Eagle: The information requested is in the following tables:
	
		
			  Number of pension credit beneficiaries in London Government region 
			  Local authority  May 2008  May 2009 
			 Barking and Dagenham 10,220 10,190 
			 Barnet 13,700 13,780 
			 Bexley 8,730 8,820 
			 Brent 14,950 15,190 
			 Bromley 10,620 10,770 
			 Camden 10,180 10,280 
			 City of London 190 200 
			 Croydon 13,450 13,580 
			 Ealing 14,760 14,880 
			 Enfield 14,590 14,640 
			 Greenwich 10,970 11,060 
			 Hackney 12,490 12,580 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 7,490 7,610 
			 Haringey 12,180 12,340 
			 Harrow 10,190 10,350 
			 Havering 11,460 11,380 
			 Hillingdon 9,740 9,860 
			 Hounslow 9,960 10,090 
			 Islington 11,040 11,160 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 6,720 6,830 
			 Kingston upon Thames 4,670 4,760 
			 Lambeth 12,830 12,930 
			 Lewisham 11,910 11,900 
			 Merton 6,920 6,930 
			 Newham 15,030 15,160 
			 Redbridge 12,070 12,140 
			 Richmond upon Thames 5,080 5,070 
			 Southwark 13,090 13,130 
			 Sutton 6,720 6,760 
			 Tower Hamlets 13,620 13,520 
			 Waltham Forest 11,860 11,820 
			 Wandsworth 11,300 11,300 
			 Westminster 9,460 9,600 
			 Total 348,190 350,610 
			  Notes: 1. The number of beneficiaries in receipt is rounded to the nearest 10.  2. Beneficiaries-pension credit is claimed on a household basis and therefore the number of people that pension credit helps (the beneficiaries) is the number of claimants in addition to the number of partners for whom they are also claiming. 3. Parliamentary constituencies and local authorities are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant ONS postcode directory.  Source: DWP Information Directorate Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of individuals who received a winter fuel payment in London Government region for winter 2008-09 
			  Local authority  Number 
			 Barking and Dagenham 24,160 
			 Barnet 56,850 
			 Bexley 46,720 
			 Brent 38,820 
			 Bromley 66,130 
			 Camden 26,950 
			 City of London 1,240 
			 Croydon 56,680 
			 Ealing 44,610 
			 Enfield 47,590 
			 Greenwich 32,810 
			 Harrow 40,020 
			 Hackney 21,720 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 20,480 
			 Haringey 28,350 
			 Havering 52,030 
			 Hillingdon 43,860 
			 Hounslow 33,200 
			 Islington 22,640 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 20,580 
			 Kingston upon Thames 25,430 
			 Lambeth 29,970 
			 Lewisham 33,250 
			 Merton 29,000 
			 Newham 25,630 
			 Redbridge 41,080 
			 Richmond upon Thames 31,810 
			 Southwark 28,460 
			 Sutton 34,490 
			 Tower Hamlets 20,220 
			 Wandsworth 33,860 
			 Waltham Forest 31,810 
			 Westminster 27,180 
			 Total 1,117,620 
			  Notes: 1. Figures rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Parliamentary constituencies and local authorities are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant ONS postcode directory.  Source: DWP Information Directorate 100 per cent. data.

Sickness Benefits

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if she will place in the Library before the Christmas Adjournment a copy of the Government's response to the European Commission on EU infringement proceedings in respect of the non-payment of exportable disability living allowances and other exportable sickness benefits.

Angela Eagle: I refer the hon. Member to my written answer given on 8 December 2009,  Official Report, column 249W.

Social Security Benefits

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent estimate she has made of the number of households in England in which each member is in receipt of at least one of income support, council tax benefit, housing benefit, jobseeker's allowance, pension credit or income-related employment and support allowance.

Helen Goodman: Information on the receipt of income support, council tax benefit, housing benefit, jobseeker's allowance, and pension credit is not available on a person level basis because these are paid on a benefit unit basis.
	The most recent estimate available is that there were 4,000,000 households in England where all of the benefit units were in receipt of at least one of income support, council tax benefit, housing benefit, jobseeker's allowance, or pension credit.
	 Source
	The Family Resources Survey 2007-08. This survey is known to under-record benefit receipt so the estimate presented here should be treated with caution.

Social Security Benefits

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate she has made of the number of households in England in which all members are in receipt of at least one of working tax credit for those on incomes of less that £15,460 per annum including a disability element, disability living allowance, child tax credit for those with an income of less than £15,460 per annum, housing benefit including a disability premium, income support including a disability premium, council tax benefit including a disability premium, war disablement pension including a mobility supplement or constant attendance allowance or attendance allowance.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 10 December 2009
	The information is not available.

Social Security Benefits: Elderly

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was spent on disability premiums for  (a) pension credit and  (b) housing benefit for people over 65 in England in (i) 2007-08 and (ii) 2008-09.

Angela Eagle: The disability premium applies only to working age benefits, but disabled pensioners can have an additional amount for severe disability taken into account in their claim for pension credit or housing benefit.
	Premiums are additional amounts which are taken into account in the means test for pension credit and housing benefit, but are not paid directly as a discrete amount. They do not necessarily increase benefit entitlement by the full value of the premium, and the impact will depend on the pensioner's income and other circumstances.
	However, it is possible to estimate how much pension credit expenditure is due to the severe disability premium by looking at how much less would be spent if the premium was removed, all other things being equal, and these estimates are provided in the following table.
	Housing benefit is more complex, as entitlement is usually dependent on the amount and type of pension credit that is in payment. In particular, the use of the premium in a pension credit award can lead to a larger housing benefit entitlement, without the premium being used in the housing benefit assessment. National Statistics on housing benefit do not currently provide the necessary information needed in order to produce an estimate of the expenditure involved.
	
		
			  Estimated additional expenditure on pension credit due to the severe disability premium, for claimants aged 65 and over and living in England 
			  Total expenditure (£ million) 
			 2007-08 1,160 
			 2008-09 1,220 
			  Notes: 1. Expenditure estimates are consistent with expenditure information published on the internet at http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/expenditure.asp 2. The proportion of total pension credit expenditure relating to this group has been estimated using a 5 per cent. sample snapshot of cases in August of each year. 3. For couples, age is defined as the age of the claimant. 4. Additional expenditure on pension credit due to the severe disability premium is defined as the lower of the value of the premium(s) used in the pension credit assessment and the weekly pension credit award. 5. Estimates have been rounded to the nearest £10 million.  Source: DWP Statistical and Accounting Data

Social Security Benefits: Mortgages

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment she has made of the effects of the time taken to make support for mortgage interest payments on people in receipt of  (a) income support,  (b) income-based jobseeker's allowance,  (c) income-related employment and support allowance and  (d) pension credit; what the reasons are for the time taken to make such payments; how many people she estimates will be affected by the time taken; what estimate she has made of the monetary value of such outstanding payments; when she expects payments to be made in accordance with target times; and if she will make a statement.

Helen Goodman: holding answer 7 December 2009
	 The information is not available in the format requested.
	Neither Jobcentre Plus nor the Pension Disability and Carers Service has separate specific targets for processing support for mortgage interest (SMI) payments. Clearance times for SMI payments are measured along with all other claims or changes of circumstances affecting benefits.
	Jobcentre Plus is meeting the actual average clearance targets for changes for all primary benefits; the Pension Disability and Carers Service is meeting its targets for clearing pension credit claims.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reasons question  (a) 300399 on definition of disability and  (b) 300517 on expenditure on disability benefits, was not answered before 9 December 2009.

Jonathan R Shaw: Answers to questions 300399 and 300517 were not given to the hon. Member on the due dates as a result of administrative delays, for which I sincerely apologise.

JUSTICE

Correctional Services Accreditation Panel

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much remuneration the chair of the Correctional Services Accreditation Panel receives.

Jack Straw: The chair of the Correctional Services Accreditation Panel is the Head of Performance and Regulation, Criminal Justice Group, Ministry of Justice. He is a senior civil servant who performs this role as part of his normal duties and receives no additional payment in relation to the chairmanship of CSAP.

Correctional Services Accreditation Panel

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people worked for the Correctional Services Accreditation Panel in each of the last three years.

Jack Straw: In addition to the chair, the panel consists of appointed members, who are independent experts in offending behaviour programmes, the principles of effective practice and/or accreditation. 12 members were appointed in 2003 for a period of three years. These appointments and the appointment of the acting chair were extended until 31 April 2008.
	Following an open competition in January 2008, 15 independent experts were appointed. Members are appointed to carry out work when required and remuneration is dependent on that work and attending the panel which convenes on an ad hoc basis. The panel is supported by one full-time civil servant who manages the programme of work.

Bill of Rights

Eleanor Laing: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether invited members of the public were remunerated for attendance at his Department's deliberative events on British values.

Michael Wills: At the regional events which took place on Saturdays throughout October in London, Cardiff, Sheffield, Gateshead and Edinburgh invited members of the public received an incentive payment of £75 per person. A total of 457 people attended the regional events. At the reconvened events in November in Gateshead and Birmingham (for which more travelling time was required for most delegates) invited members of the public received an incentive payment of £85 per person. A total of 225 people attended the reconvened events. When carrying out general population research it is usual for research companies to make incentive payments as a means to ensure that the research not only includes active individuals who like to engage in these discussions but also encourages less engaged individuals to take part. Incentive payments are especially important in the case of events of this nature, as participants will often be expected to travel long distances to attend and will also be expected to reconvene as part of the next stages in the deliberative events process.

Convictions

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average age was of people convicted of  (a) violence against the person,  (b) sexual offences,  (c) robbery,  (d) burglary and  (e) drug offences in each year since 1997.

Maria Eagle: The average age of persons found guilty at all courts in England and Wales, by selected offence type, from 1997 to 2007 (latest available) is given in the following table.
	Data for 2008 are planned for publication on 28 January 2010.
	
		
			  The average age of persons convicted at all courts for selected types of offence, England and Wales 1997 to 2007( 1, 2) 
			  Offence type  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Violence against the person 26 27 27 27 26 27 27 27 27 27 27 
			 Sexual offences 37 38 38 37 37 37 37 36 37 36 37 
			 Burglary 22 23 23 23 23 24 24 24 24 24 24 
			 Robbery 21 21 22 21 21 22 22 22 21 21 20 
			 Drug offences 27 27 27 27 27 27 27 28 28 28 28 
			 (1) The statistics relate to the average age of persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services-Ministry of Justice.

Crimes of Violence

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many threats made by prisoners to prison officers were reported in the latest period for which figures are available; and what his Department's policy is on action to be taken in response to such reports.

Maria Eagle: A prisoner who makes threats to anyone may be charged under the prison or young offender institution rules with using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour. The charge will be dealt with at an adjudication hearing by a prison governor, or in more serious cases by an independent adjudicator (district judge). If the charge is proved the governor may impose any of the punishments set out in the rules, ranging from a caution, forfeiture of privileges, stoppage of earning, or cellular confinement. An independent adjudicator may impose any of these punishments, plus up to 42 additional days in custody.
	The Offender Management Caseload Statistics (OMCS), available on the Ministry of Justice website at:
	www.justice.gov.uk/publications/docs/offender-management-caseload-statistics-2008-2.pdf
	show that in 2008, 16,048 offences of threatening, abusive, or insulting words or behaviour were punished following guilty findings at adjudications. The OMCS do not show the number of these offences that were directed at prison officers (as opposed to other members of staff, other prisoners, or visitors), or how many charges were not proven or not proceeded with.
	Any threats by prisoners towards prison staff should be recorded on a Security Information Report (SIR). In the period January to August 2009, 15,232 SIRs were submitted in connection with threats to staff and others, but these records do not show how many of these incidents related to threats to prison officers, other staff, or visitors.
	Alternatively to, or in addition to, the prison disciplinary system, prisoners' behaviour is taken into account when their privilege level under the Incentives and Earned Privileges (IEP) scheme is reviewed. A pattern of bad behaviour, such as making threats, or a particularly serious single incident, is likely to lead to a loss of privileges under the scheme. No figures are available on the number of prisoners whose privilege level has been reduced as a consequence of making threats.

Crown Courts

Stuart Bell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what recent assessment he has made of the level of competition for contracts for the provision of advocacy services in the Crown Court Criminal Defence Service;
	(2)  what his policy is on the provision of criminal litigation support and advocacy services in respect of a case in the Crown Court by the same firm of solicitors; and what value for money assessment has been made of that practice;
	(3)  if he will make an assessment of the potential effects on standards of representation in the Crown Court provided by the Criminal Defence Service of the appointment by the solicitors' firms providing criminal litigation support of advocates from those firms;
	(4)  if he will make an assessment of the potential effects on standards of advice given to a client of the Criminal Defence Service of the appointment to the client's case of a solicitor and an advocate from the same firm, with particular reference to  (a) advice on the right to silence during an investigation and  (b) the avoidance of adverse references at trial.

Bridget Prentice: With the exception of some advocates on very high cost (crime) cases, the Legal Services Commission (LSC) does not directly contract with advocates for the provision of advocacy services in the Crown court. The LSC is currently consulting on changes to the way that it procures advocacy services for high cost criminal cases. Currently there are sufficient advocates of appropriate quality to meet the needs of the Criminal Defence Service.
	Solicitor advocates must pass through an appropriate accreditation scheme before they are able to appear in the Crown court. The aim of this is to ensure that they achieve an equivalent level of skills to barristers. It is also the case that solicitor advocates and barristers-whether employed or self-employed-are under a professional obligation only to take on cases for which they are suitably experienced and qualified.
	In commissioning defence and other services, the LSC needs to be able to rely on suitable standards and accreditation to provide assurance as to the quality and value for money of the services it is buying. MOJ and the LSC have spent three years working with the professional bodies, the senior judiciary and the Crown Prosecution Service to develop a quality assurance scheme for all advocates as recognition of the significant change in those now permitted to partake in advocacy. In the longer term, the Quality Assurance of Advocates scheme (QAA) which is currently being developed may become a contractual requirement for all advocates wishing to undertake publicly funded advocacy.
	Advocates, whether solicitor advocates or barristers, are not involved in advising clients during investigations prior to charge. If a litigator advises his client to remain silent during interview, then that is a matter of professional judgment at that time with no bearing on any decision to instruct an in-house advocate or independent counsel if the client is subsequently charged.

Departmental Freedom of Information

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many officials in his Department's Information Directorate were seconded to the Information Commissioner's Office in  (a) 2007,  (b) 2008 and  (c) 2009.

Michael Wills: The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is the independent authority responsible for enforcing the Freedom of Information Act.
	The ICO is supported by one secondee from the Information Directorate in the Ministry of Justice, who joined the Office in April 2009. There have been no previous secondees from the Information Directorate.

Departmental Freedom of Information

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 received by his Department in 2008 received a substantive response within 20 days.

Michael Wills: Statistics published by the Ministry of Justice on Freedom of Information in central Government for 2008 show that of a total of 2,492 non-routine requests received by the Department, 56 per cent. (1,393) received a substantive response within 20 days. 62 per cent. (1,537) of requests were dealt with 'in time', that is, within 20 days or by meeting a permitted extension deadline.
	To improve its performance, the Department brought the management of all of its freedom of information requests within the remit of a new data access and compliance unit, in late 2008.
	Since 2008, the timeliness with which it deals with requests has risen substantially-from 51 per cent. at the end of 2008 to 71 per cent. in the second quarter of 2009. It expects to see further improvements in timeliness during 2009.
	The statistics can be found on the Ministry of Justice website at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/freedomof informationquarterly.htm
	and copies are available in the Library of the House.

Departmental Information Officers

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many full-time equivalent press officers  (a) are employed by and  (b) work for his Department.

Michael Wills: As of November 2009, there were 33 press officers employed by the Ministry of Justice. In addition, there were five other staff working in the office as press office contractors.
	The Ministry of Justice was created in May 2007. Staffing levels in the Ministry's Communications Directorate now more adequately reflect the high level of media interest in the work of the Department, and the need to meet the high demands of a 24/7 media. It is right that the public know and understand the work of the MOJ and its agencies and how taxpayers' money is being spent. Communications, including the work of the press office, is an important element of this.

Departmental Official Hospitality

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies spent on (i) alcohol and (ii) entertainment in the last 12 months.

Michael Wills: All expenditure on food, drink and entertainment is in line with the Ministry's internal finance policy manual and gifts and hospitality policy, which set out mandatory guidance for all staff regarding the use of public funds. Both are consistent with the Treasury guidance on Managing Public Money, at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/psr_mpm_index.htm
	and the Treasury handbook on Propriety and Regularity at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/psr governance_valueformoney.htm
	The Ministry's policy on in-house hospitality prohibits the supply of any alcohol to Ministry of Justice personnel who are paid from departmental funds. When providing hospitality to external parties, then discretion can be exercised, e.g. a modest amount of wine with a meal, but expenditure should be modest and appropriate to the circumstances.
	Expenditure on alcohol and entertainment are not specifically identified within the Ministry's accounting systems as they form part of a wider entertainment and hospitality classification. To identify specific amounts relating to alcohol and entertainment would involve examining every individual transaction within this wider category, which would incur disproportionate costs. Expenditure in 2008-09 on this wider category of expenditure was £315,000 for the Ministry and its Executive agencies, excluding the 42 local probation boards and trusts.

Departmental Telephone Lines

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many telephone lines with the prefix  (a) 0870,  (b) 0845 and  (c) 0800 his Department (i) operates and (ii) sponsors; how many calls were received to each number in the last 12 months; and whether alternative numbers charged at the BT local rate are available in each case.

Michael Wills: The Department's telecoms services are provided through contracts with external service providers. The majority of these services are managed within individual business areas and detailed management information is not collated centrally.
	Following de-regulation of the telecoms industry, many telecommunications companies offer call packages which have inclusive calls, though in most cases 0800/0845 number are not covered. This means that charges paid by the caller to prefix 08 numbers are set by each phone company individually, with charges varying accordingly, especially when the call originates from a UK mobile or non-UK number.
	From the records held centrally, the Department operates 52 0845 numbers and 25 0800 telephone numbers to provide a range of services. There is no record of any 0870 numbers being used for public access to services.
	Some prefix 08 numbers could also be considered to be sponsored by the Department, as it pays for some of the cost to the caller. However, the amount would differ depending on the relevant tariffs in a caller's specific call plan.
	In 2008-09, call volumes to 18 0845 numbers used by Her Majesty's Courts Service Bulk Payment Centre totalled 789,000.
	Details of call volumes to other individual numbers, and any additional alternative exchange numbers that may be in use, are not collated centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	As part of providing a cost-effective service to its users, the Department considers ways to make service users aware of the possibility that cheaper call options could be available. For instance, Her Majesty's Courts Service Bulk Payment Centre publish alternative exchange numbers for 18 0845 numbers on their web pages. This allows customers to choose which number to call, depending on their call plan. Charges vary, especially when the call originates from a UK mobile or non-UK number.

Departmental Written Questions

John Mason: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many questions tabled for answer on a named day his Department received in each of the last 12 months; and to how many such questions his Department provided a substantive answer on the day named.

Michael Wills: The information requested is shown in the table and covers the Session from 3 December 2008 to 12 November 2009.
	
		
			   Number of named day questions for answer  Number of questions answered substantively on the named day 
			 December 2008 45 40 
			 January 2009 75 54 
			 February 2009 74 63 
			 March 2009 92 56 
			 April 2009 35 22 
			 May 2009 79 40 
			 June 2009 65 36 
			 July 2009 100 62 
			 August 2009 0 0 
			 September 2009 59 31 
			 October 2009 81 47 
			 November 2009 45 31 
			 Total 750 482 
		
	
	Central guidance on answering parliamentary questions is now available in the Guide to Parliamentary Work, at
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/parliamentary-clerk-guide.aspx
	In the response to the Procedure Committee report on written parliamentary questions, the Government accepted the Committee's recommendation that Departments be required to provide the Procedure Committee with sessional statistics in a standard format on the time taken to respond to written parliamentary questions, accompanied by an explanatory memorandum setting out any factors affecting their performance. This will be taken forward as soon as possible.

Foster Care: Finance

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his most recent estimate is of the cost of an intensive fostering placement.

Maria Eagle: The estimated cost for intensive fostering for the financial year 2009-10 will vary with the geographical area in which the provider is located, with some areas having larger overheads, including foster carer payments, transport, salaries and premise costs than another area. The costs currently range between £2,220 to £2,385 per week per placement.

Fuel Poverty

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the answer of 10 November 2009,  Official Report, columns 295-96W, on fuel poverty, when he expects figures on fuel poverty in  (a) Yorkshire and the Humber and  (b) England to be available for (i) 2008 and (ii) 2009.

David Kidney: I have been asked to reply.
	Figures on fuel poverty in Yorkshire and the Humber, and for all Government office regions within England, are published at the same time as headline levels for England. 2008 data will be published during 2010, and figures for 2009 will be available a year later. We will be announcing publication dates of the 2008 and 2009 figures early in the new year (2010) at the following link:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/publications/publications.aspx

Health Services: Channel Islands

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what consultation his Department conducted with  (a) British Chambers of Commerce,  (b) trade unions,  (c) the Federation of Small Businesses,  (d) the Confederation of British Industry and  (e) other organisations with interests in industry, trade, or commerce prior to the decision to cancel the reciprocal agreement between the National Health Service and the Isle of Man with effect from 1 April 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Wills: No such discussions took place. The Department of Health ended the bilateral agreement with the Channel Islands (including Jersey and Guernsey) and gave notice on the agreement with the Isle of Man, as it considers that they are out of place considering the wide availability of travel insurance, and there is little robust data to justify the business case and value for money for the national health service.

Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the latest estimate is of the annual cost of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority.

Jack Straw: I refer my hon. Friend to my reply to the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent (Mr. Davies) on 10 December 2009,  Official Report, column 622W.

Legal Aid: Hazel Grove

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many applications for legal aid were  (a) received from and  (b) granted to residents of (i) Hazel Grove constituency and (ii) each local authority in the north-west in each of the last five years.

Bridget Prentice: Applications for civil legal aid help and advice are made to individual providers. Existing data collection arrangements record the number of instances of advice provided, rather than the number of applications made.
	Applications for civil legal aid representation are submitted to the Legal Services Commission (LSC). The LSC collects data on the number of civil legal aid representation applications submitted to providers located within (i) Hazel Grove constituency and (ii) each local authority in the north-west and this is broken down for each of the past five financial years (see Table 1). A proportion of these applications will come from individuals resident outside (i) Hazel Grove constituency and (ii) local authority areas in the north-west.
	Data on applications for criminal legal aid are not recorded in the same way as applications for civil legal aid representation. Instead, they rely on a separate 'online' application process. This does not allow applications for criminal legal aid to be identified on the basis of postcode information. Therefore, it is not possible to provide details of criminal legal aid applications submitted from residents in the Hazel Grove constituency area, nor from those residents in each local authority area in the north-west.
	However, following the introduction of means testing in October 2006, the Legal Services Commission can identify the number of criminal legal aid applications submitted to the neighbouring Stockport magistrates court (see Table 2). These applications will include those submitted from defendants charged with an indictable only offence and facing trial before Manchester Minshull street Crown court. A proportion of these applications will have come from individuals resident in the Hazel Grove constituency area.
	Table 2 also provides the total number of applications submitted to all 42 magistrates courts covered by the north-west region of Her Majesty's Courts Service (HMCS). An analysis of these data by individual court could be provided only at disproportionate cost. As with the data for Stockport magistrates court, the applications will include a proportion from individuals who are resident outside the north-west region.
	
		
			  Table 1: Civil legal aid applications for representation, and legal aid certificates granted-Hazel Grove and north-west local authority areas-last five financial years 
			   Applications  Certificates 
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Hazel Grove constituency 84 84 108 113 118 64 68 70 78 85 
			
			  North-west local authority areas   
			 Allerdale 215 185 196 216 153 160 137 149 154 109 
			 Barrow-in-Furness 353 348 354 282 221 287 285 279 225 157 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 1,100 1,090 1,105 1,034 1,131 891 915 928 829 935 
			 Blackpool 1,099 1,237 1,178 1,049 1,102 863 986 949 825 908 
			 Bolton 1,295 1,171 1,194 1,191 1,163 1,008 926 978 979 988 
			 Burnley 619 665 725 637 568 458 507 566 506 455 
			 Bury 514 528 528 499 551 379 412 401 380 421 
			 Carlisle 530 534 465 428 397 419 418 380 367 315 
			 Chester 512 404 409 380 480 384 327 305 296 367 
			 Chorley 304 321 268 227 306 225 263 209 174 239 
			 Congleton 114 160 170 142 129 81 120 128 115 106 
			 Copeland 196 241 237 231 195 161 184 190 186 142 
			 Crewe and Nantwich 304 334 293 267 264 240 263 244 227 228 
			 Eden 91 78 95 84 72 73 56 70 71 48 
			 Ellesmere Port and Neston 150 167 189 156 182 118 132 146 131 138 
			 Fylde 189 198 170 137 118 136 150 132 99 93 
			 Halton 505 476 460 447 539 386 371 367 368 441 
			 Hyndburn 559 575 470 380 360 457 440 358 276 292 
			 Knowsley 360 365 366 353 300 247 302 281 276 244 
			 Lancaster 570 578 557 504 447 437 471 436 407 337 
			 Liverpool 2,388 2,366 2,576 2,279 2,538 1,869 1,852 2,053 1,921 2,066 
			 Macclesfield 219 187 213 175 225 164 155 179 141 189 
			 Manchester 3,057 2,677 2,591 2,361 2,454 2,470 2,178 2,102 1,913 1,977 
			 Oldham 937 882 967 874 910 731 714 804 720 755 
			 Pendle 318 228 243 192 221 220 172 175 145 165 
			 Preston 1,062 1,039 865 809 859 899 856 735 657 681 
			 Ribble Valley 26 30 18 19 29 18 28 16 14 17 
			 Rochdale 718 785 822 763 812 567 672 692 624 687 
			 Rossendale 158 134 143 104 128 122 112 107 70 99 
			 Salford 1,403 1,348 1,301 1,054 1,015 1,188 1,151 1,134 900 848 
			 Sefton 1,203 1,129 1,083 997 1,002 931 856 818 783 803 
			 South Lakeland 189 215 224 234 247 150 174 181 177 208 
			 South Ribble 68 58 51 31 52 55 40 34 28 34 
			 St. Helens 929 938 891 920 1,118 759 760 738 752 926 
			 Stockport 1,123 1,153 1,270 1,164 1,179 866 912 994 871 896 
			 Tameside 930 850 904 731 734 745 722 780 602 575 
			 Trafford 577 534 462 531 729 486 430 382 401 561 
			 Vale Royal 328 393 388 367 504 234 282 288 278 400 
			 Warrington 527 511 465 404 450 400 398 330 328 337 
			 West Lancashire 262 244 243 212 237 215 205 205 176 204 
			 Wigan 1,012 1,145 1,320 1,343 1,371 767 836 937 896 958 
			 Wirral 1,649 1,822 1,831 1,682 1,885 1,354 1,531 1,493 1,445 1,625 
			 Wyre 306 321 314 281 264 216 239 244 209 192 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Legal aid applications submitted and granted by (a) Stockport magistrates court and (b) all magistrates courts in the HMCS north-west region 
			   October 2006 to March 2007  April 2007 to March 2008  April 2008 to March 2009  April 2009  to  October 2009 
			  Stockport MC 
			 Applications submitted 1,421 2,704 2,960 1,594 
			 Applications granted 1,241 2,505 2,832 1,535 
			  
			  All north-west MCs 
			 Applications submitted 48,196 98,791 101,996 58,311 
			 Applications granted 42,833 92,694 96,406 55,325

Police: Databases

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which penalty notices for disorder will be recorded on the PentiP computer system.

David Hanson: I have been asked to reply.
	All penalty notices for disorder issued by police forces in England and Wales will be recorded on the PentiP computer system.

Police: Databases

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which penalty notices for disorder are recorded on the Police National Computer.

David Hanson: I have been asked to reply.
	All penalty notices for disorder issued for 'recordable offences' are recorded on the Police National Computer. The list of 'recordable offences' is defined by the National Police Records (Recordable Offences) Regulations.

Police: Databases

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the annual running costs of the new PentiP computer system in each of the next three years.

David Hanson: I have been asked to reply.
	The National Policing Improvement Agency has contracted Northgate Public Services to run PentiP as a managed service for an initial period of seven years. The annual charge for providing the managed service to 44 police forces and their associated courts in England and Wales (including British Transport Police) is as follows:
	
		
			  Service management year  Annual charge (£) 
			 Year l 1,818,643 
			 Year 2 1,454,262 
			 Year 3 1,382,386 
			 Year 4 1,310,510 
			 Year 5 1,310,510 
			 Year 6 1,310,510 
			 Year 7 1,310,510 
			 Total over seven years 9,897,331

Police: Databases

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of  (a) developing and  (b) implementing the new PentiP computer system.

David Hanson: I have been asked to reply.
	The PentiP computer system is being delivered by the National Policing Improvement Agency as part of a business continuity project. The full project costs of developing and implementing the PentiP computer system and related business processes across 44 police forces and their associated courts in England and Wales (including British Transport Police) is £17.3 million, which is lower than the £19.3 million original cost estimate. As the development and implementation activities are so inter-linked, it is not possible to separate the costs into  (a) development and  (b) implementation.

Prisoners

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether prisoners allowed out of prison on resettlement overnight release licences are included in his Department's prison population figures.

Maria Eagle: Prisoners who have been released on an overnight temporary release licence are included in prison population figures.
	These prisoners are required to return to prison after their temporary release has concluded and therefore continue to form part of the overall population for which a prison place is required.

Prisoners Release

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many convicted foreign national prisoners were released from prison in England and Wales in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many foreign national prisoners convicted of each offence have been released from prison since 1 January 2009.

Maria Eagle: The number of foreign national prisoners (FNPs) discharged from prisons in England and Wales in the last five years following the completion of a determinate sentence is shown in the table.
	
		
			   Number of discharges 
			 2004 7,100 
			 2005 7,400 
			 2006 7,700 
			 2007 8,100 
			 2008 9,500 
			  Note: These figures have been rounded to nearest 100. 
		
	
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
	Data for 2009 are not yet available.

Prisoners Release

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many foreign national prisoners were discharged from a sentence of imprisonment in  (a) 2008 and  (b) each month in 2009 for which figures are available.

Jack Straw: The number of discharges of foreign national prisoners from completed determinate sentences in 2008 was 9,500. This figure has been rounded to the nearest 100.
	Data for 2009 are not yet available.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Prisoners: Children in Care

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the number of people serving custodial sentences who were formerly children in care.

Maria Eagle: Information on the number of prisoners serving custodial sentences in England and Wales who were formerly in care is not held centrally.
	However, a Social Exclusion Unit report 'Reducing re-offending by ex-Prisoners' published in 2002 reported that 27 per cent. of the prison population had been taken into care as a child against an average across the general population of 2 per cent.

Prisoners: Collective Worship

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice in how many prisons all  (a) Anglican,  (b) Roman Catholic and  (c) Free Church or Methodist prisoners were able to attend weekly worship in the last quarter for which figures are available; and in which prisons prisoners of each affiliation were not all able to attend weekly worship in that period.

Maria Eagle: Information on this is not collected or collated by prisons. The information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost as it would need to be collated from 135 prisons. All prisons provide appropriate acts of worship for prisoners from the Anglican, Roman Catholic and Free Church/Methodist traditions each week, other than in exceptional circumstances. On the authority of the governor, prisoners may be excluded from attending worship on an individual basis for a period not exceeding one month, and renewable thereafter, on certain specified grounds relating to security, good order and control.

Probation

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his most recent estimate is of the level of underspend by probation areas in Wales in 2009-10.

Maria Eagle: Probation trusts and areas in Wales are forecast to be on-budget for 2009-10.

Probation

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what mechanism exists for probation trusts and probation areas in Wales to be reimbursed for the cost to them of  (a) changes in the number of staff they employ and  (b) redundancy payments in the period to April 2010.

Maria Eagle: All probation areas/trusts in Wales have identified efficiency savings in their budgets. It is anticipated that any staff reorganisation or redundancies that may arise before April 2010 will be met from this money.

Probation Officers

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans he has for the harmonisation of the conditions of service of probation service staff in the event of the establishment of an all-Wales probation trust.

Maria Eagle: Job evaluation exercises previously carried out within probation should minimise the number of harmonisation issues. These issues would be dealt with if the trust application process is successful and once the trust becomes a legal body, as there is no power to do so before the trust is legally established. The harmonisation activities would be undertaken in a phased approach after 1 April 2010.

Probation: Finance

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how the additional £1.6 million funding awarded to the Probation Service in Wales in 2010-11 is to be allocated.

Maria Eagle: The Director of Offender Management in Wales (DOM) is responsible for allocating the additional funding. This will be used as part of the DOM's commissioning responsibility to deliver offender services in Wales.
	Currently commissioning priorities are being considered and discussed with the probation service. These include increasing offender services around community resettlement, alternatives to short custodial sentences and increasing provision to support women offenders. The outcome of those discussions will help determine the range of offender services to be delivered through probation. Discussions have also included how the delivery of such additional services could provide jobs for trainee probation officers.

Road Traffic Act

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what percentage of road traffic cases which proceeded to trial did so under section 172 of the Road Traffic Act in each of the last five years.

Maria Eagle: The number of proceedings at magistrates courts for offences under section 172 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 as a percentage of all motoring offences proceeded against at magistrates courts, England and Wales 2006 and 2007 (latest available) is shown in the following table.
	Prior to 2006 data under section 172 were recorded within 'other miscellaneous motoring offences' and cannot be separately identified.
	Data for 2008 are planned for publication on 28 January 2010.
	
		
			  The number of proceedings at magistrates courts for offences under section 172 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, and the percentage these are of all court proceedings for motoring offences, England and Wales, 2006 and 2007( 1,2) 
			  Number of offences 
			  Offence description  2006  2007 
			 Section 172 of the Road Traffic Act 1988: Keeper of vehicle or person other than keeper of vehicle failing to supply information as to driver's identity as required by or on behalf of Chief Officer of Police. 19,172 (3)28,929 
			 Total motoring offences proceeded against at magistrates courts. 1,719,888 1,420,563 
			 Percentage of section 172 offences compared with total motoring offences proceeded against at magistrates courts. 1 2 
			 (1) It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings, in particular those relating to summary motoring offences, may be less than complete. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are use. (3) The penalty for this offence was raised to six points by the Road Safety Act 2006 which was implemented in 2007. The increase in the number of proceedings is likely due to offenders refusing a fixed penalty and opting for trial.  Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services-Ministry of Justice

Young Offenders

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many of those under the age of 18 years who were convicted of offences related to shoplifting have been  (a) directed to take up training courses as part of their sentence and  (b) exclusively directed to take up training courses in each year since 2004;
	(2)  how many of those under the age of 18 years old have been  (a) directed to take up training courses as part of their sentence and  (b) exclusively directed to take up training courses in each year since 2004.

Maria Eagle: Data are not available centrally on specific numbers of under-18s directed to do training as part of their sentence. Shoplifting is categorised as a separate offence and this and other sentencing data are published by the Ministry of Justice annually:
	www.justice.gov.uk/publications/criminalannual.htm
	Young offenders aged under 18 years may be directed to undertake a range of reparative and rehabilitative programmes as part of their sentences. In addition a young offender can be required to attend a specified place of education as part of a sentence for example if given a youth rehabilitation order with an education requirement.
	Through the national youth justice indicators the Youth Justice Board require that young offending teams work to encourage the participation of young offenders in education, training or employment by the end of their sentence. This indicator is also part of the local authority national indicator set. Figures for 2007-08 showed that 71.1 per cent. of young offenders were engaged by the end of their sentence.
	For information, the full trends since 2004-05 are provided as follows:
	
		
			   Percentage 
			 2004-05 74.2 
			 2005-06 75.1 
			 2006-07 68.7 
			 2007-08 71.1 
		
	
	All young people in youth custody are expected to participate in education and training and this forms a central element of custodial regimes. Custody often provides a unique opportunity to engage young people in learning and for young people to develop their skills. The sentence planning process in custody includes planning education and training in accordance with the young person's needs.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Afghanistan

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his Department's policy is on decompression periods for staff working in Afghanistan.

Douglas Alexander: Most home civil service staff working in Afghanistan spend six weeks in country and two weeks out of the country. Alternatively, staff may work three weeks in country and spend one week out of the country provided the cost is no greater.
	At the end of their assignment staff must take a minimum of a four-week annual leave break after a one-year posting, five weeks after an 18-month posting, and six weeks after a two-year posting.

Afghanistan: Poverty

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the effects on levels of poverty in Helmand province of his Department's activities in that area in the last 12 months; and what mechanisms are used to measure that effect.

Douglas Alexander: The most recent data relating to poverty in Afghanistan were collected in 2007-08 as part of the National Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (NRVA). Analysis of NRVA data relating to Helmand will be published in early 2010. Data relating to changes in poverty in Helmand over the last 12 months are currently being collected and will be available in due course.
	The Department for International Development (DFID) measures the effects of all its programmes through routine monitoring and evaluation.

Bonn Declaration

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much funding his Department has allocated under each budget heading for the purposes of meeting its obligations under the Bonn Declaration in each year from 2001 to 2008.

Gareth Thomas: The 2001 Bonn Declaration committed signatories to providing $410 million per year, from 2005-08, for developing countries to respond to climate change. The European Community was one of these signatories and the UK Government agreed to contribute approximately £30 million ($61,467 million) per year. The following table provides the amount spent through each budget heading, which has exceed that original commitment.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Special Climate Change Fund 3.3 3.3 3.8 
			 Clean Energy Investment Framework 0.43 1.3 0.36 
			 Global Environment Facility (climate focal area) 10.4 10.4 11.66 
			 Bilateral (including research) 9.27 18.35 26.18 
			 Least Developed Countries Fund - - 3.5 
			 Other Government Department spending 6.63 7.4 7.4 
			 Total 30.03 40.75 52.9 
		
	
	The Department for International Development (DFID) contributed through the Special Climate Change Fund, the Clean Energy Investment Framework, the Global Environment Facility, the Least Developed Countries Fund and through Bilateral aid.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Politics and Government

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans his Department has to assist with the holding of local elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2010.

Gareth Thomas: Successful completion of the next electoral cycle in the Democratic Republic of Congo will be vital for the continued economic development and stabilisation of the country. The Department for International Development (DFID) has committed more than £27 million in support of local elections.
	DFID support has helped to build the capacity of the Independent Electoral Commission and finance preparations for local elections. This includes revision of the electoral roll and voter registration, both of which will also be used in preparation for the presidential ballot.

Departmental Buildings

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department spent on works and refurbishment to offices allocated to Ministers in his Department's buildings in the last 12 months.

Michael Foster: No funds have been spent by the Department for International Development (DFID) on works or refurbishment to offices allocated to Ministers in our buildings in the last 12 months.

Departmental Conferences

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which conferences held overseas have been attended by civil servants based in his Department in the last three years; and what the cost to the public purse was of such attendance at each conference.

Michael Foster: The information requested is not held centrally and could not be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.
	Travel by civil servants is undertaken in accordance with the Civil Service Management Code.

Departmental Electronic Equipment

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many plasma screen televisions his Department has purchased since 2001; and what the cost has been of purchasing and installing such screens in each such year.

Michael Foster: This information is not held centrally and would incur disproportionate costs to collate.

Departmental Freedom of Information

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 his Department received in 2008; and how many of these received a substantive response within 20 days.

Michael Foster: The Ministry of Justice publishes annual statistics on freedom of information requests received by central Government Departments on its website. The annual report for 2008 can be found at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/docs/freedom-of-information-annual-report-2008.pdf

Departmental Internet

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what redesigns of websites operated by his Department have taken place since 27 June 2007; and what the  (a) cost to the public purse and  (b) date of completion of each such redesign was.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development's (DFID's) website has been redeveloped to allow greater scope for engagement with the UK and overseas public. The redeveloped site allows DFID to give far more detail of projects and programmes than before and is easier for the web visitor to navigate and search.
	The work was undertaken in three phases:
	September 2008-a short term refresh to the homepage design.
	December 2008-next step in the graphical design of the website including more multimedia content.
	April 2009-completion of web redevelopment and design with introduction of a content management system.
	The costs were £970,419, which include design, build, testing, hosting, licensing and management.

Departmental Lost Property

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many  (a) laptop computers,  (b) desktop computers and  (c) memory sticks his Department has recorded as having been (i) lost and (ii) stolen from its offices in Scotland in each of the last 10 years.

Douglas Alexander: There has been no loss or theft of  (a) laptop computers,  (b) desktop computers or  (c) memory sticks from the Department for International Development's office in Scotland between financial years 2002-03 and 2008-09. Records of loss and theft are held for a seven-year period and are therefore not available for years before 2002-03.

Departmental Official Hospitality

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department spent on  (a) alcohol and  (b) entertainment in the last 12 months.

Michael Foster: It is not possible to provide expenditure figures for hospitality and entertainment without incurring disproportionate costs. All entertainment and hospitality is made in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on the principles of Managing Public Money and the Treasury Handbook on Regularity, Propriety and Value for Money.

Departmental Publicity

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department has spent on  (a) Ministerial photoshoots and  (b) production of videos in which Ministers appear in the last three years for which figures are available.

Douglas Alexander: The Department for International Development (DFID) does not have a central budget for photography or the production of videos. It is not possible to collate information from country office and departmental budgets without incurring disproportionate costs.

Departmental Training

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many overseas training courses were attended by his Department's civil servants in the latest period for which figures are available; how many civil servants attended each course; and what the total cost to the public purse was of each course.

Michael Foster: It is not possible to provide information of all training courses attended by civil servants or the amount spent by the Department for International Development (DFID) on overseas training courses without incurring disproportionate costs. Sub-departments and overseas offices within DFID are responsible for arranging and financing staff training. Information on the amount spent on training courses is not held centrally.

Hotels

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department spent on hotel accommodation for  (a) Ministers,  (b) special advisers and  (c) civil servants in each of the last five years.

Douglas Alexander: The information requested is not held centrally and could not be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.
	Travel by Ministers, special advisers and civil servants is undertaken in accordance with the Ministerial Code and the Civil Service Management Code respectively, and all spending on official entertainment is made in accordance with the principles set out in Managing Public Money.
	I refer the hon. Member to the Cabinet Office annual list of overseas travel over £500 undertaken by Ministers. The 2008-09 list was published on 16 July 2009 and can be viewed at:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/propriety_and_ethics/ministers/travel_gifts.asp

Public Appointments: Females

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 1 December 2009,  Official Report, column 607W, what steps his Department is taking with other countries to ensure well-qualified women candidates are appointed to senior posts in  (a) CEDAW and  (b) the UN Agency for Women.

Michael Foster: The UK is committed to promoting open, transparent and merit-based appointment processes for UN leadership positions. The purpose of this is to ensure that the best people are appointed to important roles such as the head of the new UN agency for women.
	For elections, such as for the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women's Committee (CEDAW), our policy is always to support the best-qualified candidates.
	The Department for International Development works with national women's ministries in a number of developing countries to strengthen their capacity on gender equality and their engagement in international institutions working on gender.

Rwanda: Armed Conflict

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he has taken  (a) in the UK and  (b) in the Council of Ministers in respect of (i) leaders and (ii) members of the Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda based in European countries; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: I have been asked to reply.
	We have been working closely with the EU Special Representative for the Great Lakes, to encourage a coordinated EU approach to the Europe-based leadership of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). We have also worked in the UN Security Council to impose sanctions on some of these individuals under UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1807. There are currently no indications of the presence in the UK of any of the leading members of the FDLR.
	The UK is committed to enforcing the UN sanctions regime on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). We will not hesitate to support sanctions against any person or company providing support to armed groups in the region where there is sufficient evidence to do so.
	We have been in touch with the Group of Experts, established by UNSCR 1807, throughout the process of producing their report, and have offered as much assistance as possible to aid in its enquiries. The UK has also shared information on the activities of militia groups, such as the FDLR, as requested by the Group of Experts and we will continue to do so. We continue to work with our European partners to disrupt lines of communication between the FDLR in DRC and FDLR support networks, for example, closing relevant websites.

Slavery: Developing Countries

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to counter modern slavery in developing countries.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) supports long-term programmes to help tackle poverty and social exclusion, which are some of the underlying causes of slavery and forced labour.
	DFID has contributed £19.85 million to the work of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to tackle forced labour issues.
	DFID is also currently supporting two Anti-Slavery International (ASI) projects that address modern day slavery. In West Africa (Niger, Mali, Chad and Mauritania) DFID is providing £447,870 to support a five-year project that is addressing Descent Based Slavery. Over a five-year period (April 2008 to March 2013) DFID is also providing £1,435,049 to ASI to support its work in Tanzania, India, the Philippines, Togo, Peru and Costa Rica in tackling slavery and child labour.

Sudan

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his most recent assessment is of the humanitarian situation in Darfur province in Sudan.

Gareth Thomas: We receive regular joint assessment reports prepared by the United Nations and Government agencies. The most recent (October 2009) indicated that humanitarian indicators across Darfur were stable, although concerns were raised about the likely impact of a poor harvest. We remain deeply concerned at both the quantity and quality of humanitarian assistance in Darfur which have still not fully recovered following the expulsion and closure of NGOs by the Sudanese Government in March 2009. The continued insecurity in the region exacerbates this problem.
	A secure Darfur in which humanitarian assistance can reach those who need it remains a key objective for the UK. We regularly engage with the Government of Sudan on this issue both bilaterally and through the High Level Committee. UK officials again emphasised the importance of the Government of Sudan taking action to tackle impunity at a high level meeting in Geneva on 30 November attended by the UN, donor countries and the Government of Sudan. We continue to raise these issues in meetings in Khartoum with senior members of the Sudanese Government.

United Nations: Females

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 1 December 2009,  Official Report, column 607W, for what reason his Department has no plans to promote a UK candidate for either appointment.

Michael Foster: The United Nations (UN) has recently agreed to the creation of two new senior leadership posts on gender in the UN. General Assembly Resolution 63/311 creates a new Under-Secretary General post to head a new UN Gender Entity. Security Council Resolution 1888 creates a post of Special Representative Against Sexual Violence in Conflict at Assistant Secretary-General level. The UK supported the establishment of both of these posts. Appointments will be made by the UN Secretary-General. The UK is committed to the promotion of open, transparent, merit-based appointment processes by the UN, which encourage the best candidates to come forward.
	The UK strongly supports the creation of a new UN gender agency, on which there will be further negotiations during the current session of the General Assembly. Our priority is to bring negotiations on the establishment of the entity to a successful and speedy resolution.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan and Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Army Land Rovers are operational in  (a) Iraq and  (b) Afghanistan.

Bill Rammell: There are currently no Army Land Rovers in Iraq. I am withholding information about Army Land Rovers in Afghanistan as its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.

Afghanistan: Armed Forces

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what mechanisms are in place to assess progress in the training of the Afghan military and police force.

Bob Ainsworth: The progress of the Afghan National Security Forces is regularly assessed by the ISAF forces mentoring and partnering them against the ISAF Capability Milestone criteria.

Afghanistan: Armed Forces

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many districts of Afghanistan are under the complete control of Afghan forces.

Bob Ainsworth: The Afghan National Security Forces have taken on the lead for providing security in Kabul, a process which began in August 2008.

Afghanistan: Armed Forces

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the proportion of recruits to  (a) the Afghan national army and  (b) the Afghan police force who are illiterate.

Bill Rammell: The literacy rates for both the Afghan national army and Afghan national police currently estimated to stand at 93 per cent. for officers, 30 per cent. for non-commissioned officers and 11 per cent. for enlisted soldiers.
	ISAF are working to address the low literacy levels with the Afghan Government. This has included letting two contracts to help with the education of recruits to the Afghan national army and Afghan national police.
	UK forces in Helmand work to improve the basic literacy and numeracy of members of the Afghan national army and Afghan national police by means of train-the-trainer programmes run by the Adjutant General Corps Education  Training Service and the Ministry of Defence police respectively.

Afghanistan: Armed Forces

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the Prime Minister's Statement of 30 November 2009,  Official Report, columns 831-54, on Afghanistan and Pakistan, 
	(1)  how many of the extra 10,000 Afghan army troops will be deployed in Helmand province for  (a) training and  (b) offensive and manoeuvre operations;
	(2)  whether it is planned that the extra 10,000 Afghan army troops will be permanently based in Helmand province after their training is completed.

Bob Ainsworth: Helmand province is a key priority for ISAF. We continue to encourage the deployment of additional Afghan forces to Helmand; however, this is ultimately a decision for the Government of Afghanistan.

Afghanistan: Armed Forces

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his most recent assessment is of the strength and capabilities of the  (a) Afghan National Army and  (b) Afghan National Police.

Bob Ainsworth: The total number of Afghan National Army, (ANA) currently stands at approximately 96,000. The ANA has developed well as a fighting force over the last few years and is becoming increasingly capable of participating in operations with ISAF forces as is shown by the role they recently played in contributing to Operation Panther's Claw this summer.
	The total number of Afghan National Police (ANP) currently stands at approximately 94,000. Although the ANP capacity has improved through US and EU led programmes, their capability varies across the forces and continues to suffer from major problems including low levels of literacy and high levels of corruption.
	Both ANA and ANP played a key role in leading the security for the Afghan presidential election this summer.
	We will continue to work closely with the Government of Afghanistan and the international community to build the capacity of the ANA and ANP.

Afghanistan: Detainees

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many of those held in detention in Afghanistan had been captured by British armed forces in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many people were held in detention by British armed forces in Afghanistan in each month since 2001;
	(3)  how many of those held in detention by British armed forces in Afghanistan  (a) have been handed over to US forces,  (b) have been handed over to Afghan security forces,  (c) have been released and  (d) remain in British custody; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: Between July 2006 and 31 October 2009 UK forces detained 739 people. The UK does not transfer detainees to other ISAF nations unless it is required by our Memoranda of Understanding with the Denmark or the Czech Republic, where we hand detainees taken by Danish or Czech forces back to them for transfer to Afghan authorities or release. As of 31 October 2009, the UK held 10 people in detention. We hold capture details relating to a total of a further seven individuals detained by UK forces between 2001 and June 2006.
	
		
			   Detained  Released( 1)  Transferred to Afghan Authorities( 1)  Died in UK medical facilities of wounds sustained on the battle field( 1) 
			  2006 
			 July 4 0 4 0 
			 August 0 0 0 0 
			 September 16 3 13 0 
			 October 1 1 0 0 
			 November 1 1 0 0 
			 December 0 0 0 0 
			  
			  2007 
			 January 6 0 5 1 
			 February 14 13 1 0 
			 March 2 0 2 0 
			 April 11 4 4 3 
			 May 11 11 0 0 
			 June 10 1 9 0 
			 July 38 28 8 2 
			 August 11 2 9 0 
			 September 8 3 5 0 
			 October 13 7 6 0 
			 November 34 25 9 0 
			 December 17 14 2 1 
			  
			  2008 
			 January 12 1 11 0 
			 February 13 3 10 0 
			 March 10 7 3 0 
			 April 15 5 10 0 
			 May 17 1 16 0 
			 June 11 2 9 0 
			 July 36 12 24 0 
			 August 32 13 19 0 
			 September 21 10 10 1 
			 October 22 6 16 0 
			 November 51 22 29 0 
			 December 42 22 20 0 
			  
			  2009 
			 January 19 5 14 0 
			 February 8 5 3 0 
			 March 24 14 10 0 
			 April 9 8 1 0 
			 May 6 0 6 0 
			 June 23 8 15 0 
			 July 28 19 9 0 
			 August 23 17 6 0 
			 September 36 24 12 0 
			 October 84 52 22 0 
			 Total 739 379 352 8 
			 (1) These columns refer to individuals detained in the month identified. In some cases they may have been released, transferred or died in the following month. It also includes a small number of individuals initially detained by the Danish armed forces who were handed back to Danish forces for release or transfer.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the maximum cash allowance awarded to  (a) military and  (b) civilian staff in Afghanistan will be for 2010.

Bob Ainsworth: Significant differences in the terms and conditions of employment for military personnel and their civilian colleagues within the MOD make direct comparisons between the two very difficult. Moreover, it is difficult to predict allowances for the whole of 2010, since they are not subject to an annual increase but rather the result of periodic review.
	The maximum monthly allowance for a MOD civilian in Afghanistan is £7,750. The quoted figure is before tax and is based on the most senior individual working in Helmand Province, undertaking a working week in excess of 82 hours. Allowances paid to civil servants reflect the significant additional hours worked above and beyond their contracted working week and the unique conditions experienced in theatre. They vary considerably and are dependent on an individual's grade, location and working week. Should the conditions in theatre remain as they are currently, then the quoted figure will remain unchanged in 2010.
	It is harder to be precise about the level of military allowances. Service pay and conditions are completely different to those of their civilian counterparts and the precise sum of the whole package that military personnel receive, including the tax-free operational allowances, will depend on their rank, personal circumstances and experience. The military package, which includes an X-factor for all schooling allowances and housing for the eligible, is designed to take account of the unique nature of military life. Full details of the Service Pay and Allowance Package are available on the Armed Forces Benefits Calculator internet site available at the following link:
	www.mod-abc.co.uk

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he plans to take to  (a) increase force readiness levels and  (b) maintain the present level of UK commitment to the war in Afghanistan.

Bob Ainsworth: Current operations in Afghanistan remain the main effort for our armed forces and the Ministry of Defence. We are committed to an enduring force level of 9,500 as announced by the Prime Minister on 30 November 2009,  Official Report, column 832-36.
	We acknowledge the pressure these operations place on our contingent capability. As I said to the House of Commons Defence Committee on 24 November 2009, readiness levels have improved this year and we are committed to continuous improvement to the UK's contingent capacity, focusing on those contingency tasks most likely to arise.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on potential EU military contributions to the campaign in Afghanistan.

Bob Ainsworth: I have had numerous bilateral discussions with our European allies on their national contributions to the NATO-led campaign in Afghanistan, though not in the context of a specific EU military contribution.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library the latest copy of Unclassified Metrics by the Strategic Advisory Group HQ ISAF.

Bob Ainsworth: Metrics being developed for General McChrystal currently remain an internal, classified ISAF document. Should an unclassified version be produced we will, in consultation with NATO, consider placing it in the Library of the House.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many incidents of theft of British military supplies during transit from the port of debarkation in Pakistan to the final destination in Afghanistan have been reported since 2 February 2009.

Bob Ainsworth: Between 2 February 2009 and 5 December 2009 no incidents of theft of British military supplies transiting from the port of disembarkation in Pakistan to Afghanistan have been reported.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many insurgents have been captured by British forces in each month in 2009 to date; and how many of them  (a) were subsequently released,  (b) were transferred to Afghan authorities and  (c) remain in British custody.

Bob Ainsworth: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave today to the hon. Member for Leominster (Bill Wiggin).

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many contacts between British forces and the Taliban have occurred in each month of 2009.

Bob Ainsworth: The numbers of troops in contact events (regardless of the instigator) involving the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and insurgents in Helmand province as part of Task Force Helmand for each complete month from January 2009 for which verified data are available are shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Number of contacts( 1) 
			  2009  
			 January 180 
			 February 180 
			 March 250 
			 April 150 
			 May 210 
			 June 420 
			 July 410 
			 August 400 
			 September 410 
			 October 340 
			 (1)Rounded to the nearest 10. 
		
	
	ISAF forces operating in Helmand come from a number of different nations, which often operate closely alongside each other and alongside Afghan Army and police units. Without undertaking a detailed assessment of each engagement, it is not possible to define precisely in every case whether an attack was aimed at UK forces, at our ISAF partners, or against Afghan units. Data are therefore collected on the number of incidents involving ISAF forces in Helmand without attempting to identify the nationality of the forces actually being attacked. The environment in which forces are operating makes it extremely difficult to distinguish between incidents initiated by insurgent forces and those initiated by ISAF.
	These data are based on information derived from a number of sources and can be an estimate only, not least because of the difficulties in ensuring a consistent interpretation of the basis for collating statistics in a complex fast-moving multinational operational environment.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times the readiness levels for the 500 extra troops to be sent to Afghanistan have changed since 14 October 2009; and what the levels were in each case.

Bill Rammell: Following the Prime Minister's announcement to the House on 14 October 2009,  Official Report, column 302, that UK troop numbers in Afghanistan would be increased by 500, subject to certain conditions being met, 1 Royal Welsh were placed on 14 days notice to move. 1 Royal Welsh's readiness remained unchanged until the Prime Minister's confirmation to the House on 30 November 2009,  Official Report, column 834, that this deployment would go ahead.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence to which UK location the Camp Bastion War Memorial will be returned following the cessation of hostilities.

Kevan Jones: At an appropriate time at the end of operations in Afghanistan, we will consider the future location of the Camp Bastion War Memorial.

Armed Forces

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence where each regiment of the  (a) Royal Artillery,  (b) Royal Engineers,  (c) Royal Signals and  (d) Household Cavalry is stationed.

Bill Rammell: The following tables provide the location of each major regular unit.
	
		
			  Royal Regiment of Artillery 
			  Name  Location 
			 1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery Tidworth, Hampshire 
			 3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery Hohne, Germany 
			 4th Regiment Royal Artillery Topcliffe, North Yorkshire 
			 5th Regiment Royal Artillery Catterick, North Yorkshire 
			 7th Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery Colchester, Essex 
			 12th Regiment Royal Artillery Thorney Island, Hampshire 
			 14th Regiment Royal Artillery Larkhill, Wiltshire 
			 16th Regiment Royal Artillery North Luffenham, Rutland 
			 19th Regiment Royal Artillery Tidworth, Hampshire 
			 26th Regiment Royal Artillery Gutersloh, Germany 
			 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery Plymouth, Devon 
			 32nd Regiment Royal Artillery Larkhill, Wiltshire 
			 39th Regiment Royal Artillery Harlow Hill, Newcastle 
			 40th Regiment Royal Artillery Lisburn, Northern Island 
			 47th Regiment Royal Artillery Thorney Island, Hampshire 
			 The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery St. John's Wood, London 
		
	
	
		
			  Royal Engineers 
			  Name  Location 
			 21 Engineer Regiment Ripon, North Yorkshire 
			 22 Engineer Regiment Perham Down, Hampshire 
			 23 Engineer Regiment (Air Assault) Woodbridge, Suffolk 
			 24 Commando Engineer Regiment Barnstaple, Devon 
			 25 Engineer Regiment Waterbeach, Cambridge 
			 26 Engineer Regiment Perham Down, Hampshire 
			 28 Engineer Regiment Hameln, Germany 
			 32 Engineer Regiment Hohne, Germany 
			 33 Engineer Regiment (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) Wimbish, Essex 
			 35 Engineer Regiment Paderborn, Germany 
			 36 Engineer Regiment Maidstone, Kent 
			 38 Engineer Regiment Antrim, Northern Ireland 
			 39 Engineer Regiment Waterbeach, Cambridge 
			 42 Engineer Regiment (Geographical) Thatcham, Berkshire 
			 170 (Infrastructure Support) Engineer Group Chilwell, Nottinghamshire 
			 Works Group Royal Engineers (Airfield) Waterbeach, Cambridge 
		
	
	
		
			  Royal Signals 
			  Name  Location 
			 1st (United Kingdom) Armoured Division Headquarters and Signal Regiment Herford, Germany 
			 2nd Signal Regiment York 
			 3rd (United Kingdom) Division Headquarters and Signal Regiment Bulford, Wiltshire 
			 7th Signal Regiment Elmpt, Germany 
			 10th Signal Regiment Corsham, Wiltshire 
			 14th Signal Regiment (Electronic Warfare) Brawdy, Pembrokeshire 
			 16th Signal Regiment Elmpt, Germany 
			 21st Signal Regiment (Air Support) Colerne, Wiltshire 
			 22nd Signal Regiment Stafford, Staffordshire 
			 30th Signal Regiment Bramcote, Warwickshire 
		
	
	
		
			  Household Cavalry 
			  Name  Location 
			 Household Cavalry Regiment Windsor, Berkshire 
			 Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment Knightsbridge, London

Armed Forces

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence where each battalion of the infantry is stationed.

Bill Rammell: The following table shows the home base location of each major regular infantry unit.
	
		
			  Name  Location 
			 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards Windsor 
			 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards Aldershot, Hampshire 
			 1st Battalion Scots Guard Catterick, North Yorkshire 
			 1st Battalion Irish Guard Windsor 
			 1st Battalion Welsh Guard Aldershot, Hampshire 
			 The Royal Scots Borderers, 1st Battalion the Royal Regiment of Scotland Edinburgh, Scotland 
			 The Royal Highlanders Fusiliers, 2nd Battalion the Royal Regiment of Scotland Edinburgh, Scotland 
			 The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion the Royal Regiment of Scotland Inverness, Scotland 
			 The Highlanders, 4th Battalion the Royal Regiment of Scotland Fallingbostle, Germany 
			 The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 5th Battalion the Royal Regiment of Scotland Canterbury, Kent 
			 1st Battalion the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires) Paderborn, Germany 
			 2nd Battalion the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires) Dhekelia, Cyprus 
			 1st Battalion the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (King's Lancashire's and Border) Catterick, North Yorkshire 
			 2nd Battalion the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (King's Lancashire's and Border) Episkopi, Cyprus 
			 1st Battalion the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers Tidworth, Hampshire 
			 2nd Battalion the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers Hounslow, London 
			 1st Battalion the Royal Anglian Regiment Pirbright, Surrey 
			 2nd Battalion the Royal Anglian Regiment Celle, Germany 
			 1st Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) Munster, Germany 
			 2nd Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment (Green Howards) Preston, Lancashire 
			 3rd Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment (Duke of Wellington's) Warminster, Wiltshire 
			 1st Battalion the Mercian Regiment (Cheshire) Catterick, North Yorkshire 
			 2nd Battalion the Mercian Regiment (Worcester and Foresters) Belfast, Northern Ireland 
			 3rd Battalion the Mercian Regiment (Staffords) Fallingbostel, Germany 
			 1st Battalion the Royal Welsh (the Royal Welsh Fusilier) Chester, Cheshire 
			 2nd Battalion the Royal Welsh (the Royal Regiment of Wales) Tidworth, Hampshire 
			 1st Battalion the Royal Irish Regiment (27th (Inniskilling), 83rd, 87th and the Ulster Defence Regiment) Tern Hill, Shropshire 
			 2nd Battalion the Parachute Regiment Colchester, Essex 
			 3rd Battalion the Parachute Regiment Colchester, Essex 
			 1st Battalion the Royal Gurkha Rifles Shorncliffe, Kent 
			 2nd Battalion the Royal Gurkha Rifles Seria, Brunei 
			 1st Battalion the Rifles Chepstow, Monmouthshire 
			 2nd Battalion the Rifles Ballykinler, Northern Ireland 
			 3rd Battalion the Rifles Edinburgh, Scotland 
			 4th Battalion The Rifles Bulford, Wiltshire 
			 5th Battalion the Rifles Paderborn, Germany

Armed Forces: Deployment

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what treaty obligations the UK has to provide military forces overseas.

Ivan Lewis: I have been asked to reply.
	There are over 400 treaties concluded since 1945 of possible relevance to the hon. Member's question. Of these, there are four multilateral treaties which stand out in terms of their importance: the North Atlantic treaty 1949; the treaty on the European Union as amended by the Lisbon Treaty 2007; the treaty of economic, social and cultural collaboration and collective self-defence 1948 as amended by the Paris Agreements of 23 October 1954 on the Western European Union; and the Charter of the United Nations 1945. Before the UK were to provide military forces overseas by virtue of relevant provisions in any of these treaties, it would be necessary for a separate decision to be taken by the Government to commit UK armed forces for deployment abroad.

Armed Forces: Deployment

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of personnel in each  (a) service and  (b) corps of the Army are in breach of their harmony guidelines on (i) tour intervals and (ii) individual separated service.

Kevan Jones: Each service operates different harmony guidelines. Royal Navy personnel should not exceed 660 days deployed in 36 months, the Army 415 days in 30 months, and the RAF 280 days detached in 24 months. Against these criteria our most recent information is that l per cent. of the Royal Navy, 10.3 per cent. of the Army and 5 per cent. of RAF personnel are operating above harmony guidelines.
	The information on tour intervals and corps of the Army is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Health

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many personnel in each armed service were classified as  (a) unfit for duty,  (b) fit for limited deployability for medical reasons and  (c) overweight at the latest date for which information is available.

Kevan Jones: The MOD is currently in the process of modifying the criteria against which it collates management information on the medical fitness of Service personnel. Whereas previously we have measured the medical fitness for task of Service personnel, we are now moving to a process of measuring the numbers who are medically fully deployable, limited deployable and non-deployable. This should help us to focus our efforts on maximising the numbers available to deploy on operations.
	The single Services and DASA have been working on the collection and validation of figures recorded against the new criteria, using data obtained from the Joint Personnel Administration (JPA) system. The aim is to provide reliable, validated data by spring 2010.
	A new Armed Forces Weight Management Policy came into force on 1 October 2009, which provides policy for the measurement of body composition and the management of Service personnel who demonstrate increased risk of ill health and inadequate physical fitness owing to their weight. The policy requires each Service to provide annual body composition measurement (BCM) for all personnel, in order to identify an individual's level of health risk and encourage maintenance of a healthy body weight.
	Each of the single Services is implementing the policy. The Naval Service Fitness Information Software System (FISS) is currently undergoing user testing and will go live during January 2010, with the first full reporting period being completed 12 months later.
	The Army FISS began on 1 April 2009, but roll-out is still in progress and data for a full annual reporting period are not yet available.
	The RAF FISS began on 1 October 2007. However, the provision of the data by individuals is voluntary, and prior to the introduction of the revised policy on 1 October 2009 around half of RAF personnel had chosen not to do so. We are therefore unable to supply comprehensive data until a full annual reporting period completes in October 2010.

Armed Forces: Health Services

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the number of veterans resident in  (a) Scotland,  (b) England,  (c) Wales and  (d) Northern Ireland who have a health condition related to their service.

Kevan Jones: holding answer 7 December 2009
	The information is not held centrally or in the format requested.
	It is only possible to identify veterans who have a health condition related to their service if they have made a claim and received an award under the relevant compensation scheme. The War Pensions Scheme (WPS) provides no-fault compensation for all ex-service personnel where illness, injury or death is caused by service before 6 April 2005. The Armed Forces and Reserve Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) which came into force on 6 April 2005, provides no-fault compensation for injury, illness or death caused by service on or after that date.
	The following tables provide details of those veterans living in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland who were receiving a pension, compensation or both between 2003 and 2009 for a health condition related to their service. The data provided here differ from earlier responses as the level of detail supplied is only available from 2003 onwards.
	
		
			  Veterans receiving a war pension between 2003 and 2009 
			  Country  All  Ongoing war pension as at 30 June 2009  Gratuity award 1 January 2003 to 30 September 2009  Nil award 1 January 2003 to 30 September 2009 
			 All 169,935 142,700 19,490 7,750 
			 England 136,290 114,070 15,945 6,275 
			 Scotland 17,780 15,715 1,355 705 
			 Wales 10,870 8,940 1,460 470 
			 Northern Ireland 4,730 3,705 725 295 
			 Great Britain 270 265 (1)- (1)- 
		
	
	
		
			  Veterans receiving compensation through the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme between 2003 and 2009 
			  Country  Awarded under AFCS 
			 Total 1,670 
			 England 1,395 
			 Scotland 105 
			 Wales 70 
			 Northern Ireland 35 
			 Great Britain 60 
		
	
	
		
			  Veterans receiving both a war pension and compensation through the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme between 2003 and 2009 
			  Country  Awarded under both schemes 
			 Total 290 
			 England 225 
			 Scotland 20 
			 Wales 20 
			 Northern Ireland 25 
			 (1) Represents a value of fewer than five.  Notes: 1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest five 2. Due to rounding, totals may not equal the sum of their parts. 3. May include personnel who have returned to service. 
		
	
	The 'Great Britain' category refers to individuals that have been identified as residing within Great Britain, but due to invalid address data, cannot be allocated to a particular country.
	Due to the time period given and the age profile of the recipients, it is possible that some may have died.

Armed Forces: Manpower

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the  (a) trained requirement,  (b) trained strength and  (c) fit for duty strength is of each service in the armed forces.

Bill Rammell: The latest trained requirement and strength of each service is provided in the following table.
	
		
			   Trained requirement  Trained strength  Percentage requirement 
			  1 October 2009
			 Royal Navy 35,660 34,980 98.1 
			 Army 101,980 100,450 98.5 
			 RAF 40,860 39,460 96.6 
		
	
	The MOD is currently in the process of modifying the criteria against which it collates management information on the medical fitness of service personnel. Whereas previously we have measured the medical fitness for task of service personnel, we are now moving to a process of measuring the numbers who are medically fully deployable, limited deployable and non-deployable. This will help us to focus our efforts on maximising the numbers available to deploy on operations.
	We have been working on the collection and validation of figures recorded against the new criteria, using data obtained from the Joint Personnel Administration (JPA) system. The aim is to provide reliable, validated data by spring 2010.

Armed Forces: Mental Health Services

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many soldiers prescribed medication for psychological problems following active service have been posted back to active service in Iraq.

Kevan Jones: Specific details of the number of personnel prescribed medication for mental health disorders as a result of active service and who have returned to operational duties are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, the individual medical records of members of the armed forces are examined by medical staff prior to deployment and the armed forces use a medical grading system which considers both mental and physical health. Both of these factors mean that personnel are not sent on operational deployment if their medical history gives any significant cause for concern.

Armed Forces: Northern Ireland

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much it has cost his Department to maintain the Army in Northern Ireland in each year since 1979.

Bill Rammell: Information is not held back to 1979. It is possible to provide data from the point at which General Officer Commanding Northern Ireland was allocated his own budget to manage. Changes in MOD accounting methodologies over time make year on year comparisons difficult.
	The figures in the first table are the cash outturn for the General Officer Commanding Northern Ireland Top Level Budget which was first created in 1991-92.
	
		
			   £ million 
			 1991-92 355 
			 1992-93 436 
			 1993-94 489 
			 1994-95 510 
			 1995-96 475 
			 1996-97 494 
			 1997-98 508 
			 1998-99 509 
			 1999-2000 528 
			 2000-01 535 
		
	
	The second table shows outturn figures for the same Top Level Budget for financial years 2001-02 to 2005-06. In 2001-02 resource accounting was introduced in the MOD. The practice of the time was to include cost of capital charges and depreciation in the final outturn figures for Top Level Budgets.
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2001-02 614 
			 2002-03 718 
			 2003-04 653 
			 2004-05 626 
			 2005-06 580 
		
	
	In 2006-07 cost of capital and depreciation charges were removed from Top Level Budget accounts. The following figures therefore reflect cash outturn only.
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2006-07 389 
			 2007-08 232 
			 2008-09 131 
			 2009-10 114

Armed Forces: Weapons

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence at which of his Department's bases in the UK weapons were reported as having been  (a) lost and  (b) stolen in each of the last 12 years; and how many and what type of weapon was involved in each case.

Quentin Davies: holding answer 10 December 2009
	 This information is not held in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. For the overall figures of weapons reported as lost or stolen over the requested period, broken down by type, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 30 November 2009,  Official Report, columns 419-20W.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consideration his Department is giving to changing the Mastiff vehicle suspension to improve its off-road performance.

Quentin Davies: The Department is continually evaluating the performance of all vehicle fleets. Both variants of the Mastiff vehicle have already received upgrades to improve its suspension, performance and reliability and we continue to monitor its performance accordingly.

Caparo Group

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what meetings  (a) he,  (b) other Ministers and  (c) officials in his Department have had with Angad Paul in each of the last three years.

Bob Ainsworth: None of the Ministers within my Department have met with Angad Paul.

Christmas

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Christmas trees were purchased by his Department and its agencies in each of the last five years; what the cost was of those trees in each year; from where the trees were sourced; what account was taken of the sustainability of the sources of the trees; and by what process the trees were disposed of.

Kevan Jones: MOD building decorations including Christmas trees are paid for from non-public funds or staff subscription. The exception was the contracted-out facilities management services for Main Building and Old War Office Building in Whitehall, which did include an annual £5,000 provision for Christmas decorations. This was subsequently removed from the contract in 2008.

Christmas

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has budgeted for Christmas trees in 2009.

Quentin Davies: Decorations in MOD buildings including Christmas trees are not paid for from public funds but are paid for from non-public funds or staff subscription.

Defence Estates Byelaws Review: Manpower

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many full-time equivalent staff the Defence Estates Byelaws Review Team has on its establishment; and how many posts on the Review Team are vacant.

Kevan Jones: The Defence Estates Byelaws Review Team currently has only four staff on its establishment (some of whom have been engaged on other work) and one administrative post which is presently vacant.

Defence Nuclear Weapons Regulator

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many full-time equivalent staff the Defence Nuclear Weapons Regulator has on its establishment; how many of these are inspectors; and how many posts on the Regulator's establishment are vacant.

Kevan Jones: The Nuclear Weapon Regulator (NWR) is an officer within the broader Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator (DNSR), which regulates both the nuclear weapons and nuclear propulsion programmes.
	DNSR has 23 full-time equivalent staff; 16 of these are inspectors. Of these 23 staff, 10 report to NWR and, of these 10, six are inspectors. One inspector post (managed by NWR) is currently vacant on a short-term basis pending the arrival of the nominated individual. There are no other DNSR vacancies.
	Some members of DNSR support both activities, so the number of people that NWR manages is not the same as the number of people involved in regulating the nuclear weapons programme.

Defence: Equipment

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress is being made in the  (a) procurement,  (b) production and  (c) delivery to combat zones in Afghanistan of vehicles offering increased protection against roadside bombs and other improvised explosive devices.

Bob Ainsworth: We are continuously delivering improvements to our fleet of protected vehicles in Afghanistan to ensure that they meet operational requirements. By the end of this year the number of vehicles in theatre will have increased by 36 per cent. since August; this includes 93 per cent. more Mastiff and 77 per cent. more Ridgback. We are also buying Warthog vehicles to replace the Viking on operations in Afghanistan, and, as announced by the Prime Minister on 1 September their delivery is being brought forward. The first Coyote and Husky vehicles have been delivered to training, and the first vehicles will deploy to Afghanistan before the end of the year.
	We are also looking to the future and anticipating new threats, and have begun a programme to develop the next generation of light protected patrol vehicles.

Defence: Expenditure

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much  (a) expenditure and  (b) near cash expenditure there was on defence (i) including and (ii) excluding military operations in each year since 1997.

Bob Ainsworth: The MOD's total expenditure (outturn) in near cash and non cash, including and excluding the cost of all military operations charged to RfR 2, for each year since 2001-02 is provided as follows.
	
		
			  £000 
			   2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			  Total MOD outturn 
			 Near cash 24,511,054 26,930,775 27,795,583 28,876,022 29,635,000 31,245,735 31,820,049 35,568,736 
			 Non cash 13,483,254 21,180,812 12,734,259 10,233,569 11,664,951 9,943,505 11,723,214 10,080,378 
			 Total 37,994,308 48,111,587 40,529,842 39,109,591 41,299,951 41,189,240 43,543,263 45,649,114 
			  
			  Less military operations 
			 Near cash 550,597 1,381,971 1,349,132 1,039,093 1,201,921 1,731,368 2,744,977 3,696,650 
			 Non cash 35,488 54,148 144,298 72,930 65,170 65,250 286,938 394,554 
			 Total 586,085 1,436,119 1,493,430 1,112,023 1,267,091 1,796,618 3,031,915 4,091,204 
			  
			  Net MOD outturn 
			 Near cash 23,960,457 25,548,804 26,446,451 27,836,929 28,433,079 29,514,367 29,075,072 31,872.086 
			 Non cash 13,447,766 21,126,664 12,589,961 10,160,639 11,599,781 9,878,255 11,436,276 9,685,824 
			 Total 37,408,223 46,675,468 39,036,412 37,997,568 40,032,860 39,392,622 40,511,348 41,557,910 
		
	
	The Department did not produce full accounts until the introduction of Resource Accounting and Budgeting for the financial year 2001-02. Prior to this, the Department's outturn was reported in the end of year Appropriations Accounts and Estimates Reports, copies of which can be found in the Library of the House. Appropriations Accounts do not, however, separately identify the cost of operations or the costs of the security and intelligence services. This information is not held centrally.

Defence: Expenditure

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of gross domestic product was spent on defence  (a) including and  (b) excluding the cost of military operations in each year since 2007-08.

Bob Ainsworth: The requested information is provided in the following table.
	
		
			   2007-08  2008-09 
			 National GDP(1) (£000) 1,417,797,000 1,435,006,000 
			 Total MOD outturn (£000) 43,543,263 45,649,114 
			 Percentage of GDP 3.07 3.18 
			 Net MOD outturn less military operations (£000) 40,511,348 41,557,910 
			 Percentage of GDP 2.86 2.90 
			 (1) GDP figures based on those published by HM Treasury. 
		
	
	The Outturn figures for 2009-10 will be published in the annual report in July 2010.

Departmental Art Works

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on art works in the last 12 months.

Kevan Jones: No works of art have been purchased by the Ministry of Defence in the last 12 months. Some works displayed within Ministers' departmental private offices are from the Government Art Collection (GAC), which publishes an annual list of acquisitions. The most recent details of acquisitions made by the GAC were published on 5 October 2009 and are available on the GAC website:
	http://www.gac.culture.gov.uk/information/publications.asp

Departmental Buildings

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many residential properties his Department owns; and how many  (a) are occupied and  (b) have been empty for more than six months.

Kevan Jones: holding answer 3 December 2009
	Much of the stock of service family accommodation (SFA) in England and Wales is owned by Annington Homes Ltd. and leased by the Department. Of the 49,828 SFA properties in the UK, 7,872 were void as at 1 December 2009 of which 3,345 have been void for more than six months.
	The Department accepts that the number of voids is too high and is taking active steps to reduce this, although a management margin for refurbishment and to allow unit moves will always be required.
	We do not hold central records for non-SFA residential properties owned by the Department.

Departmental Buildings

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on works and refurbishment to offices allocated to Ministers in his Department's buildings in the last 12 months.

Bob Ainsworth: Due to an increased number of Ministers, my Department has incurred costs of £139,000 excluding VAT, on office works and refurbishments in the last 12 months.

Departmental Buildings

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the energy efficiency rating is for each of his Department's buildings in London.

Kevan Jones: I have placed in the Library of the House a list of the operational energy ratings and energy bands for buildings' occupied by my Department and its agencies, including those in London for which a display energy certificate has been produced.

Departmental Empty Property

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many properties owned by his Department are unused; and for how long each such property has been unused.

Kevan Jones: Details of all properties of all types on the Ministry of Defence (MOD) estate that are unused, and the length of time each has been so, is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Energy

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the  (a) energy rating and  (b) energy band of each building occupied by his Department and its agencies was in each year for which figures are available.

Kevan Jones: A list of the operational energy ratings and energy bands for buildings occupied by this Department and its agencies for which a Display Energy Certificate (in Scotland, an Energy Performance Certificate) has been produced. A copy has been placed in the Library of the House.

Departmental Freedom of Information

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 his Department received in 2008; and how many of these received a substantive response within 20 days.

Kevan Jones: Statistics published by the Ministry of Justice on Freedom of Information in central Government for 2008 show that of a total of 2,692 non-routine requests received by the Department (based on aggregated quarterly data) 73 per cent. (1,972) received a substantive response within 20 days. 84 per cent. (2,269) of requests were dealt with 'in time', that is within 20 days by meeting the deadline or other permitted extension deadline.
	The statistics can be found on the Ministry of Justice website at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/freedomofinformationquarterly.htm
	and copies are available in the Library of the House.

Departmental Internet

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what redesigns of websites operated by  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies have been carried out since 27 June 2007; and what the (i) cost to the public purse and (ii) date of completion of each such redesign was.

Bill Rammell: The Ministry of Defence and armed forces collectively maintain four corporate websites. Identified redesign and implementation costs on these are provided in the following table.
	
		
			  Website  URL  Cost (£)  Note 
			 Ministry of Defence www.mod.uk 150,000 The redesign consisted of 17 work packages during the period June 2007-end March 2008(1) 
			 Royal Navy www.royalnavy.mod.uk n/a This site has not been redesigned since 27 June 2007 
			 British Army www.army.mod.uk 75,000 Redesign was completed 30 May 2008(2) 
			 Royal Air Force www.raf.mod.uk n/a This site has not been redesigned since 27 June 2007 
			 (1) Packages of work included: general template enhancements, home page, accessibility and multimedia improvements, development of user-generated page rating functionality, FOI database enhancements. (2) Design phase included information architecture, navigation schema, look and feel. 
		
	
	Staff costs are excluded as redesign costs cannot be disaggregated from the ongoing cost of maintaining the websites.
	In addition, the Department also maintains the following websites classed as Executive agencies by Central Office of Information (COI) within the Service Transformation Agreement.
	
		
			  Website  URL  Cost (£)  Note 
			 Service Personnel and Veterans Agency www.veterans-uk.info n/a Expected completion date of redesign is end December 2009(1) 
			 UK Defence Standardisation www.dstan.mod.uk n/a This site has not been redesigned since 27 June 2007 
			 Defence Analytical Services Agency www.dasa.mod.uk n/a Redesign was completed in April 2008(2) 
			 Defence Analytical Services Agency www.dasasurveys.mod.uk n/a This site has not been redesigned since 27 June 2007. The website is no longer in use 
			 Disposal Services Authority www.edisposals.com 12,000 The redesign consisted of the addition of a portal page and MOD art gallery prints completed in phases during 2009 
			 Defence Contracts Bulletin www.contracts.mod.uk n/a Redesign was completed in October 2007(3) 
			 British Forces Post Office www.bfpo.mod.uk n/a This site has not been redesigned since 27 June 2007 
			 (1) No hard costs as the redesign is being carried out in-house. (2) The redesign was implemented using existing DASA web team resources only. There were no non-staffing costs associated with the redesign. It is not possible to distinguish between redesign resource and routine website maintenance and development resource over the period of the redesign. (3) The redesign was undertaken at no cost to the MOD through a concession contract with a third party. No public funds have been expended on maintaining, updating and providing the website since its inception in 2002 or will be expended in FY 2009-10. 
		
	
	A number of other websites are run by different parts of the Ministry of Defence, but these are not managed centrally. This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Lost Property

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) laptop computers,  (b) mobile telephones,  (c) items of office furniture and  (d) works of art have been (i) lost by and (ii) stolen from his Department in each of the last three years; whether his Department has made an insurance claim in respect of each such item; and what the estimated value of each item was.

Kevan Jones: The MOD takes any loss of information, associated media storage devices and valuable assets very seriously and has robust procedures in place to mitigate against such occurrences. New processes, instructions and technological aids are also being constantly implemented to mitigate human errors and to raise awareness of every individual in the Department with regards to information assets, information and its security. The quantity and impact of lost or stolen data has been significantly reduced due to these steps and the use of appropriate encryption in the MOD.
	MOD units are not mandated to centrally report incidents of the loss or theft of mobile phones or office furniture nor record any related insurance claims. No work of art for which MOD is responsible has been reported lost or stolen during the last three years. To gather the further data beyond that reported below would incur a disproportionate cost.
	For information on mobile telephones I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 26 January 2009,  Official Report, column 33W, to the hon. Member for Newark (Patrick Mercer).
	For information on laptop computers I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the then Armed Forces Minister, Bob Ainsworth, on 24 March 2009,  Official Report, columns 271-72W, to the hon. Member for Woodspring (Dr. Fox).
	No insurance claims have been made in respect of any of the above items in the MOD since 2006, which, in common with other Government Departments, does not generally insure and, instead, bears it own risks.

Departmental Pay

John Mason: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what  (a) bonuses and  (b) incentives have been paid to (i) consultants and (ii) contractors engaged by his Department in each of the last three years.

Bob Ainsworth: This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	In the case of MOD fee earners, who are taken on for a temporary period to provide a particular service or specialist skill, they are paid only an agreed fee for their work.
	In the case of consultancy work MOD places a contract on the basis that the contractor delivers a defined output at an agreed price. Individual remuneration is a matter for the contractor.

Departmental Pay

John Mason: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what  (a) bonuses and  (b) incentives have been paid to (i) consultants and (ii) contractors engaged by executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which his Department is responsible in each of the last three years.

Bob Ainsworth: No bonuses or incentives were paid to consultants or contractors in 2006-07 or 2007-08. In the financial year 2008-09, a total of £1,860 was paid to two individuals.

Departmental Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what payments his Department has made to Green Issues in the last 12 months; for what purposes such payments were made; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the contract under which such payments were made.

Bob Ainsworth: Payments made to Green Issues Communications so far in financial year 2009-10 have totalled approximately £195,000.
	The payments are for a contract to provide support to the Submarine Dismantling Project in the areas of consultation and communications.
	No other records of central payments to Green Issues have been found in the last 12 months.
	I shall not place a copy of the contract in the Library as its disclosure would prejudice commercial interests.

Departmental Publicity

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on  (a) Ministerial photoshoots and  (b) production of videos in which Ministers appear in the last three years for which figures are available.

Bob Ainsworth: Photographs or video material of Ministers sourced by the Department would typically be produced by MOD photographers or video production teams and utilise existing internal resources. Therefore, individual costs cannot be easily identified and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

EU Law

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what  (a) statutory instruments and  (b) other regulations his Department has brought forward to meet obligations arising from EU law in this parliament.

Bill Rammell: Central records of statutory instruments made under specific powers have only been maintained by the Statutory Instruments Registrar since 2001. There are no central records maintained of 'other regulations'. Since that time, the Department has made no statutory instruments to meet obligations arising under EU Law, under powers contained in the European Communities Act 1972.

Eurocorps

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what consideration he has given to the merits of UK  (a) support for and  (b) work with Eurocorps deployments;
	(2)  what his policy is on the role for Eurocorps in EU security; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the contribution of Eurocorps in Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  what joint missions UK armed forces are undertaking with Eurocorps; and if he will make a statement;
	(5)  what assessment he has made of the effect on UK force deployment of the deployment of Eurocorps to Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement;
	(6)  what assessment he has made of the contribution of Eurocorps to Kosovo.

Bob Ainsworth: The UK has no involvement with Eurocorps and is currently not undertaking any joint missions with it.
	The MOD has no policy on Eurocorps' role in EU security or assessment of its operations, and has not considered the merits of either supporting or working with it in the near future.
	The UK regularly assesses the effect of the deployment of overseas forces on UK force deployment in Afghanistan. However, we have not made a specific assessment of the effect of the deployment of Eurocorps forces.

Game and Wild Birds Ordinance 2008

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 7 December 2009,  Official Report, columns 92-3W, on Cyprus, what guidance he has issued to the Sovereign Base Areas Administration on whether the Game and Wild Birds Ordinance 2008 prohibits the trappings of wild birds in all circumstances.

Kevan Jones: The ordinance makes it clear that large scale and non-selective methods of capturing, pursuing or killing wild birds are prohibited. The exception is where such activity is carried out strictly in accordance with a licence issued in that regard by the chief officer for reasons of public health and safety or conservation. The Secretary of State for Defence has therefore not issued any guidance to the Sovereign Base areas administration in relation to the interpretation of the Game and Wild Birds Ordinance 2008.

Hebrides Range

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what additional expenditure his Department plans for Hebrides Range; whether he plans to locate new equipment at the Range; and what plans he has for the Range's role.

Quentin Davies: The Ministry of Defence is committed to the future of the Hebrides Range. My officials are currently developing plans for new investment in the range to ensure that it continues to provide the required capability. The plans remain at an early stage of development and it is not possible therefore, to specify the level of investment that will be required. Such investment will, of course, have to be affordable within the overall Defence budget. These plans will not involve redundancies.
	I have also asked my officials and the range operator, QinetiQ, to make renewed efforts to market the range and its facilities to overseas customers.

Hebrides Range

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what date the oldest missile tracking equipment in use at Hebrides Range was installed.

Quentin Davies: The oldest missile tracking systems in use at the Hebrides Range are the four Nike Digital Instrumentation Radars (NiDIRs). They were installed between 1977 and 1981.

Helicopters

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment has been made of the use of tactical helicopter landing mats for operational purposes; whether his Department plans to procure them in the near future; and if he will make a statement.

Quentin Davies: Helicopter landing mats are already in use on operations in Afghanistan at Forward Operating Bases. The requirement for helicopter temporary landing sites is currently being assessed. We will consider any changes to our current equipment in line with the needs of the operation.

Improvised Explosive Devices

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of British service personnel who have been killed by improvised explosive devices was  (a) on foot patrol,  (b) in a vehicle and  (c) killed in other circumstances.

Kevan Jones: The MOD is committed to openly publishing casualty statistics on the number of service personnel killed and wounded on operations. Information on casualties sustained on operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, and information on how each individual was killed is included in their eulogies available on our website at the following link.
	http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/FactSheets/OperationsFactsheets

Iraq Committee of Inquiry

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what position each official in his Department seconded to the Iraq Committee of Inquiry held between January 2001 and December 2003; and for what matters each was responsible in each such year.

Bill Rammell: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given to him by the Minister for the Cabinet Office (Tessa Jowell), on 3 December 2009,  Official Report, columns 974-75W.

Iraq Committee of Inquiry

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department has provided briefing papers to the Iraq Inquiry for its oral evidence sessions.

Bob Ainsworth: The Prime Minister has said that the inquiry will have access to all Government papers. My Department has provided papers and information to the inquiry, including, at the inquiry's request, a briefing paper on the no fly zones subsequently used at the inquiry's opening hearing. It is for the inquiry, which is independent, to decide how it uses these papers.

Kentigern House

Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he has taken to ensure that the sale of Kentigern House, Glasgow on a sale and leaseback basis  (a) ensures value for money for the public purse and  (b) protects jobs within the building.

Kevan Jones: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave regarding employment at Kentigern House on 26 November 2009,  Official Report, column 294W, to the hon. Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Katy Clark).
	The Department is satisfied that the overall transaction represents value for money for the public purse.

Members: Correspondence

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the answer of 28 October 2009,  Official Report, column 377W, on Members: correspondence, when he plans to reply to the letters of 27 July 2009 and 31 August 2009 from the hon. Member for Moray on the Court of Appeal costs incurred by his Department.

Kevan Jones: I will be writing shortly in reply to the hon. Member's letters.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many seaborne attacks on coalition forces by armed gangs there were  (a) in the Persian Gulf,  (b) in the vicinity of Umm Qasr and  (c) near the Basra oil terminal in (i) 2008 and (ii) 2009.

Bill Rammell: No reports of serious incidents involving attacks by non-state forces operating from the sea against coalition naval assets in these geographical areas have been recorded in 2008 or 2009.

Military Aircraft: Helicopters

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his latest assessment is of the helicopter fleet's fitness for purpose; and if he will make a statement.

Quentin Davies: We constantly monitor the helicopter fleet to ensure that sufficient helicopters and helicopter hours are provided to meet requirements. The helicopter fleet is currently meeting all its operational and training commitments, both in the UK and overseas.
	Helicopter capability is measured in terms of flying hours rather than the number of airframes available, and we continue to review requirements and adjust as necessary.

Military Aircraft: Helicopters

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the capability of the private sector to provide helicopters to complement existing UK defence capability in  (a) Afghanistan,  (b) Iraq,  (c) the Balkans and  (d) Somalia; and if he will make a statement.

Quentin Davies: The United Kingdom does not have enduring military commitments in the Balkans, Iraq or Somalia that require the support of civilian contracted helicopter capability. In Afghanistan, the United Kingdom already maintains a contract for medium and heavy lift helicopters to carry freight in support of military operations. In addition, NATO has a commercial contract delivering freight lift, which UK Forces utilise as part of the wider coalition.
	We will always consider opportunities to enhance helicopter capability, including the use of private sector helicopters, provided that service delivery meets defence standards and operational requirements.

Official Engagements

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions  (a) Ministers in and  (b) officials of his Department met representatives of the defence industry in an official capacity since December 2007.

Bob Ainsworth: Defence Ministers and officials meet representatives of the defence industry numerous times each day. A definitive number of such meetings is not held centrally.

Rescue Services: Pembrokeshire

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times a helicopter from  (a) RAF Valley,  (b) RNAS Culdrose and  (c) Solent Coastguard assisted in a search and rescue operation off the coast of Pembrokeshire in each of the last five years.

Bill Rammell: The number of call outs off the coast of Pembrokeshire from RAF Valley, RNAS Culdrose and the Maritime Coastguard Agency bases at Lee on Solent and Portland, are shown in the following table. Call outs have been defined as those within a 25 mile radius of the Pembrokeshire coastline.
	
		
			   2005  2006  2007  2008  2009( 1) 
			 Valley 1 1 0 1 3 
			 Culdrose 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Solent bases 0 0 0 0 0 
			 (1) Please note the data for 2009 are up to 30 September.

Royal Fleet Auxiliary

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the purpose is of the planned operational efficiency programme for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.

Kevan Jones: The purpose of the review is to look at the Royal Fleet Auxiliary's business delivery model to consider options for the future and establish if there is scope to enhance efficiencies and deliver greater value for money.

Shoeburyness

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what quantity of radioactive material was released by the explosion in August 2002 at Shoeburyness; and if he will make a statement.

Quentin Davies: No radioactive material was released in the August 2002 explosion at Shoeburyness.

St. Kilda

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what maritime vessels are in use for the re-supply of St. Kilda; and what options for future re-supply he is considering.

Quentin Davies: A landing vessel from 17 Port and Maritime Regiment of the Royal Logistic Corps is currently in the process of completing the 2009 re-supply of St. Kilda. We are now considering whether this arrangement should continue or whether the Department should revert to a commercial solution in the future.

Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what contribution UK forces make to Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe is the headquarters of Allied Command Operations, one of NATO's two strategic military commands. It is responsible for all NATO operations. The UK currently contributes 125 personnel to the Headquarters, and permanently holds the position of the deputy commander, Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe.

University Officer Training Corps

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the  (a) establishment and  (b) actual number of each officer training corps unit is.

Bill Rammell: As of the 1 December 2009, the establishment and strength of each University Officer Training corps is as follows.
	
		
			  UOTC  Establishment  Strength 
			 Aberdeen 138 142 
			 Birmingham 138 142 
			 Bristol 138 206 
			 Cambridge 190 197 
			 East Midlands 138 175 
			 Edinburgh 138 218 
			 Exeter 138 83 
			 Glasgow and Strathclyde 138 162 
			 Leeds 138 209 
			 Liverpool 138 191 
			 London 320 369 
			 Manchester and Salford 138 150 
			 Northumbrian 138 345 
			 Oxford 190 259 
			 Queens 138 134 
			 Sheffield 138 177 
			 Southampton 138 147 
			 Tayforth 138 239 
			 Wales 176 307 
			 Totals 2,946 3,852

University Officer Training Corps

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the  (a) establishment and  (b) actual number of Officer Training Corps members has been in each month of 2009 to date.

Bill Rammell: The following table provides aggregate establishment and strength figures for all 19 UOTCs as at the first day of each month of 2009.
	
		
			   Establishment  Strength 
			 January 2,946 4,415 
			 February 2,946 4,220 
			 March 2,946 3,886 
			 April 2,946 3,796 
			 May 2,946 3,643 
			 June 2,946 3,517 
			 July 2,946 3,368 
			 August 2,946 3,128 
			 September 2,946 2,993 
			 October 2,946 3,705 
			 November 2,946 4,038 
			 December 2,946 3,852

CABINET OFFICE

Breast Cancer

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people were diagnosed with breast cancer in  (a) Lewes constituency,  (b) Sussex,  (c) the South East and (d) England in each year since 1997.

Angela Smith: The information falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	 Letter from Jil Matheson, dated December 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many people were diagnosed with breast cancer in (a) Lewes constituency, (b) Sussex, (c) the South East and (d) England in each year since 1997.
	The latest available figures for newly diagnosed cases of breast cancer (incidence) are for the year 2007. Please note that these numbers may not be the same as the number of people diagnosed with cancer, because one person may be diagnosed with more than one cancer.
	Table 1 provides the numbers of newly diagnosed cases of breast cancer for each year from 1997 to 2007 for (a) Lewes parliamentary constituency, (b) the counties of East Sussex and West Sussex, (c) South East government office region and (d) England.
	So that comparison over time is based on a consistent area, newly diagnosed cases of cancer in the current Brighton and Hove unitary authority, which was part of the former county of East Sussex, have not been included for any year.
	
		
			  Table 1. Registrations of newly diagnosed cases of breast cancer( 1) , persons( 2) , Lewes parliamentary constituency, the counties of East Sussex and West Sussex, South East government office region and England( 3) ,1997 to 2007( 4) 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Lewes 86 73 65 67 69 71 86 72 72 82 58 
			 East Sussex 497 432 418 463 431 442 503 435 463 470 425 
			 West Sussex 634 704 586 672 731 673 648 660 646 647 706 
			 South East 6,108 6,072 6,215 6,097 6,169 6,078 6,405 6,402 6,527 6,420 6,437 
			 England 33,683 34,078 35,749 35,016 35,714 35,552 37,777 37,936 38,699 38,279 38,291 
			 (1) Breast cancer is coded as C50 in the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). (2) Around 99 per cent. of breast cancer cases are in women. (3) Based on boundaries as of 2009. (4) Newly diagnosed cases registered in each calendar year.

Children: Poverty

Jim Cousins: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many and what percentage of children are living in poverty in each region and country of the UK; and what percentage of children in poverty lived in households where one or more members of the household were in work in each year from 2005 to 2009.

Helen Goodman: I have been asked to reply.
	Information on the number and percentage of children living in low income households in each region and country of the UK is given in the table for periods where data are available. Regional data are presented as three-year averages, due to variability in single-year estimates.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number and proportion of children who are living in households with less than 60 per cent. of contemporary median income, before housing costs, by country and region, United Kingdom, 2005-06 to 2007-08 
			  Country or region  Number (millions)  Percentage (per cent.) 
			 England 2.4 22 
			 North East 0.1 28 
			 North West 0.4 27 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 0.3 26 
			 East Midlands 0.2 26 
			 West Midlands 0.3 27 
			 East of England 0.2 15 
			 London 0.4 23 
			 South East 0.3 15 
			 South West 0.2 18 
			 Scotland 0.2 21 
			 Wales 0.2 27 
			 Northern Ireland 0.1 24 
		
	
	Information on the percentage of children in low income households where one or more members of the household were in work is in the table for years where data are available.
	
		
			  Table 2: Proportion of children living in households with less than 60 per cent. of contemporary median household income who are in households with at least one adult in work, United Kingdom, 2005-06 to 2007-08 
			   Proportion of children 
			 2005-06 55 
			 2006-07 57 
			 2007-08 57

Christmas

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much her Department has budgeted for Christmas trees in 2009.

Angela Smith: The Cabinet Office has budgeted £3,027 for Christmas trees in 2009.

Departmental Electronic Equipment

Greg Hands: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many plasma screen televisions her Department has purchased since 2001; and what the cost has been of purchasing and installing such screens in each such year.

Angela Smith: This information can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Freedom of Information

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office on how many occasions since 1 April 2008 her Department has not provided the Information Commissioner with all the relevant information he requested  (a) within 20 working days in respect of a first request and  (b) within 10 working days of a request for additional relevant information; and if she will make a statement.

Angela Smith: In those cases where the Commissioner has issued a Decision Notice, the information the hon. Member has requested is detailed in the Decision Notice. These notices are available on the Commissioner's website at:
	http://www.ico.gov.uk/
	It is not Cabinet Office practice to comment on those cases that have not yet been resolved.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people were registered to vote in each Parliamentary constituency in  (a) 1997 and  (b) the latest year for which figures are available, listed in descending order according to the difference between the two figures.

Angela Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	 Letter from Jil Matheson, dated December 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your question asking how many people were registered to vote in each Parliamentary constituency in (a) 1997 and (b) the latest year for which figures are available, listed in descending order according to the greater difference between the two figures. (306765)
	Table 1 shows the number of people registered to vote in Parliamentary constituencies in the UK and the differences between (a) 1997 and (b) 2008, which is the latest year for which figures are available.
	Boundary changes affecting some Parliamentary constituencies in Scotland came into effect in 2004. For these constituencies some of the difference in the number of people who were registered to vote between 1997 and 2008 may be a result of the boundary changes. Table 2 shows the number of people registered to vote in Parliamentary constituencies in Scotland, where comparisons between the two years are not possible due to this reason.
	A copy of the tables has been placed in the Library of the House.

Future Jobs Fund

Theresa May: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how Future Jobs Fund placements will be categorised in the labour market statistics.

Angela Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Jil Matheson, dated December 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how Future Job Fund placements will be categorised within labour market statistics. (306368)
	Labour market statistics are compiled according to internationally agreed guidelines specified by the International Labour Organisation-an agency of the United Nations. In accordance with these guidelines, people on all government supported training and employment programmes are categorised as being in employment.

Hotels

Anne Main: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much her Department spent on hotel accommodation for  (a) Ministers,  (b) special advisers and  (c) civil servants in each of the last five years.

Angela Smith: The information requested for the Cabinet Office is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Iraq Committee of Inquiry

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  how many  (a) documents and  (b) other items of information held in electronic format at each security classification her Department has submitted to the Iraq Inquiry;
	(2)  how many and what proportion of the  (a) documents and  (b) other items of information held in electronic format at each security classification requested by the Iraq Inquiry have been provided by her Department; and if she will make a statement;
	(3)  how many  (a) documents and  (b) other types of information held in electronic format at each level of security classification the Iraq Inquiry has requested from each Department; and if she will make a statement;
	(4)  how many  (a) documents and  (b) other items of information in electronic format provided to the Iraq Inquiry cannot be disclosed owing to the Government's obligations to foreign journalists or international bodies; and if she will make a statement.

Angela Smith: The Prime Minister has said that the Iraq Inquiry will have access to all Government papers it wants to see. The Cabinet Office has provided, or is in the process of providing, copies of all documents and electronic information it holds which the Inquiry has so far requested. Through close liaison with other Government Departments the Cabinet Office is clear that they too have all provided, or will soon provide, all such information as well. The information provided spans every level of Government security classification from the lowest to the highest. Should the Inquiry wish to disclose any Government information, the process for doing so is set out in the information Protocol agreed with the Inquiry and published on the Cabinet Office's website on 29 October.

Population

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the population was of each  (a) local authority district and  (b) unitary authority in the East of England on the latest date for which figures are available.

Angela Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply to the hon. Member.
	 Letter from Jil Matheson, dated December 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your question asking what the population was of each district and unitary authority in the East of England on the latest date for which figures are available. (305099)
	The attached table shows the number of people resident in each local authority district and unitary authority area within the East of England region in mid-2008. These are the latest data available.
	
		
			  Mid-year population estimates for local authority areas in the East of England, 2008 
			  Area  Persons all ages (thousand) 
			  East  
			 Luton UA 192 
			 Peterborough UA 164 
			 Southend-on-Sea UA 164 
			 Thurrock UA 152 
			   
			  Bedfordshire  
			 Bedford 156 
			 Mid Bedfordshire 135 
			 South Bedfordshire 120 
			   
			  Cambridgeshire  
			 Cambridge 123 
			 East Cambridgeshire 82 
			 Fenland 92 
			 Huntingdonshire 169 
			 South Cambridgeshire 139 
			   
			  Essex  
			 Basildon 173 
			 Braintree 142 
			 Brentwood 73 
			 Castle Point 90 
			 Chelmsford 167 
			 Colchester 181 
			 Epping Forest 124 
			 Harlow 79 
			 Maldon 63 
			 Rochford 83 
			 Tendring 148 
			 Uttlesford 74 
			   
			  Hertfordshire  
			 Broxbourne 90 
			 Dacorum 140 
			 East Hertfordshire 136 
			 Hertsmere 99 
			 North Hertfordshire 124 
			 St. Albans 134 
			 Stevenage 80 
			 Three Rivers 88 
			 Watford 81 
			 Welwyn Hatfield 108 
			   
			  Norfolk  
			 Breckland 132 
			 Broadland 123 
			 Great Yarmouth 94 
			 King's Lynn and West Norfolk 145 
			 North Norfolk 102 
			 Norwich 136 
			 South Norfolk 119 
			   
			  Suffolk  
			 Babergh 87 
			 Forest Heath 65 
			 Ipswich 122 
			 Mid Suffolk 95 
			 St. Edmundsbury 104 
			 Suffolk Coastal 126 
			 Waveney 118 
			  Source: Office for National Statistics.

Public Sector: Pay

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many public sector employees in  (a) Pendle and  (b) Lancashire earn more than £18,000 per annum.

Angela Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	 Letter from Jil Matheson, dated December 2009:
	As National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many public sector employees in (a) Pendle and (b) Lancashire earn more than £18,000 per annum. (304663)
	The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), carried out in April each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom. Annual levels of earnings are estimated from the ASHE, and are provided for employees on adult rates of pay, who have been in the same job for more than a year. ASHE is not used to provide estimates of the numbers of employees whose earnings is more than a specific amount, but can be used to provide estimates of percentage of employees in that category.
	I attach a table showing the percentage of full-time public sector employees in (a) Pendle and (b) Lancashire earning more than £18,000 per annum in 2009.
	
		
			  Percentage of full-time public sector employee jobs( 1)  earning above £18,000 per annum: United Kingdom 2009 
			   Percentage  % Coefficient of Variation 
			 Lancashire 22 7 
			 Pendle 7 50 
			 (1) Full-time employees on adult rates who have been in the same job for more than one year. As at April 2009.  Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of a figure, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV-for example, for an average of 200 with a CV of 5% we would expect the population average to be within the range 180 to 220. A CV of 50% indicates a low quality estimate.  Source: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Office for National Statistics.

Third Sector

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what discussions the Office of the Third Sector has had with  (a) HM Treasury and  (b) the Department of Health on the applicability to NHS charities of International Accounting Standard 27; and if she will make a statement.

Angela Smith: Officials from the Office of the Third Sector have regular discussions with HM Treasury colleagues on a range of matters relevant to the third sector, including the application of international accounting standards. No discussions have taken place on this subject between the Office of the Third Sector and the Department of Health.
	The application of accounting standards and the regulation of charities are distinct matters. Policy in relation to the application of accounting standards is for HM Treasury, which is implementing international financial reporting standards across the central Government sector (including the NHS), advised by the independent Financial Reporting Advisory Board. If there were concerns about the independence of a charity, notwithstanding its accounting treatment, then it would be for the Charity Commission as independent regulator of charities in England and Wales to pursue those concerns.

Third Sector

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much money has been allocated to charities from the Hardship Fund in each month since the fund's establishment; and if she will make a statement.

Angela Smith: To date, the Hardship Fund has offered grants to 181 third sector organisations worth a total of £15.95 million.
	Examples of individual grants include £187,569 to a children's hospice, £185,000 to a homelessness charity, £163,000 to a community organisation that helps disadvantaged families and children and vulnerable adults and £250,000 to a mental health charity.
	The monthly breakdown is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  £ 
			   Award value  Cumulative total 
			 September 2,280,449 2,280,449 
			 October 6,823,380 9,103,829 
			 November 5,397,689 14,501,518 
			 December 1,452,773 15,954,291

Unemployment: Young People

Theresa May: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many and what proportion of people aged 16 to 24 years old  (a) were unemployed and  (b) claimed benefit in each (i) region, (ii) local authority area and (iii) parliamentary constituency (A) in May 1997 and (B) at the latest date for which information is available.

Angela Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	 Letter from Jil Matheson, dated December 2009:
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles unemployment statistics for local areas from the Annual Population Survey (APS) and its predecessor the Annual Labour Force Survey (LFS) following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions. Unfortunately the sample size does not support analyses of unemployment of 16-24 year olds for local authorities or parliamentary constituencies.
	Table 1 shows the number and percentage of 16-24 year olds who were unemployed in each English Government Office Region, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland in the 12 month period ending February 1998 from the Annual LFS and March 2009 from the APS. As with any sample survey, estimates from the APS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. A guide to the quality of the estimates is given in table 1.
	ONS compiles the number of claimants of Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) from the Jobcentre Plus administrative system. Table 2 shows the number of computerised claims of Jobseeker's allowance (JSA) for people, aged 16-24 resident in each of the requested geographies in May 1997 and October 2009.
	It is not possible to provide the percentage of 16-24 year olds who were claiming JSA. As an alternative, table 3 shows the proportion of 18-24 year olds resident in each of the requested geographies who were claiming JSA in May 1997 and October 2009. This data is not available for parliamentary constituencies in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
	As the information provided in these tables is extensive, a copy of the tables has been placed in the House of Commons Library.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk

TREASURY

Bank Services: Pensioners

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate HM Revenue and Customs has made of the number of pensioners in  (a) Chorley and  (b) Lancashire who will be contacted with regards to an overpayment of tax on bank or building society interest.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: As part of the Taxback campaign announced at Budget 2009, HM Revenue and Customs have contacted all 3.4 million beneficiaries of pension credit to encourage those who are overpaying tax on their bank and building society interest to claim it back and, where eligible, to register to receive future interest payments without tax deducted. The latest information on the number of pension credit beneficiaries (May 2009), shows that there were 5,330 beneficiaries in Chorley and 68,710 in Lancashire.

Banks: Loans

Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of  (a) the number of buy-to-let mortgages outstanding and  (b) the monetary value of those mortgages lent by (i) Bradford and Bingley, (ii) Northern Rock, (iii) Lloyds Bank and its subsidiaries and (iv) Royal Bank of Scotland and its UK subsidiaries.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The financial institutions in which there is public sector investment are managed by their respective boards at arm's length from the Government, on commercial principles. The publication of specific business information is a matter for each company's management.
	Bradford and Bingley has published the value of buy-to-let mortgages held at the end of 2008 in its 2008 annual accounts:
	http://www.bbg.co.uk/bbg/ir/publications/rp2008/publications2008/ar2008/ar2008_03_04_09.pdf
	Northern Rock has published the number and value of buy-to-let mortgages held at the end of 2008 in its 2008 annual accounts:
	http://companyinfo.northernrock.co.uk/downloads/2008_annual_report.pdf
	RBS has published the value of buy-to-let mortgages held at the end of 2008 in its 2008 annual accounts:
	http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/RBS/677416135x0x278481/eb7a003a-5c9b-41ef-bad3-81fb98a6c823/RBS_GRA_2008_09_03_09.pdf
	Lloyds Banking Group has not published figures relating to buy-to-let mortgages in its most recent accounts.

Budget April 2009

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he made at the time of Budget 2009 of the number of jobs supported as a consequence of his Department's  (a) discretionary fiscal policy and  (b) quantitative easing measures.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: On 4 November 2009, HM Treasury published a paper setting out the estimated effect on employment of discretionary economic stimulus put in place since November 2008 see Employment impact of Government interventions:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/foi_economic_stimulus.htm

Child Benefit

Greg Pope: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the hon. Member for Hyndburn's constituent Mr. Ronald Howes' application for child benefit will be resolved.

Stephen Timms: The child benefit office replied to my hon. Friend on 9 December 2009.

Child Care Vouchers

Maria Miller: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much and what proportion of the tax revenue foregone on childcare vouchers was accounted for by people paying tax at the basic rate in each year since the inception of that scheme.

Stephen Timms: Child care vouchers given to employees by their employers are exempt from income tax up to specified limits. Employers are not required to report to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) the amounts that they have provided, so HMRC has no administrative record of the proportion of tax foregone that relates to basic rate taxpayers.
	However, published research, commissioned by HMRC in 2005, by the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) estimated that 70 per cent. of employees receiving Employer Supported Childcare (ESC) were either basic or standard rate taxpayers. The Family Resources Survey (FRS), which is published by the Department for Work and Pensions, for 2007-08 indicates that over a third of employees receiving ESC were higher rate taxpayers, with the remainder basic or standard rate taxpayers.
	The Government have published its estimates of the cost of tax and NICs relief on ESC in the pre-Budget report 2008 and the pre-Budget report 2009 Tax Ready Reckoner, available at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/pbr09_taxreadyreckoner.pdf
	The full title of the NatCen report, published in 2006, is Monitoring of the Reform of the Income Tax and National Insurance Rules for Employer Supported Childcare. It is available on the HMRC website
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/research/research-report23.htm

Child Care Vouchers

Caroline Flint: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the statement of 9 December 2009,  Official Report, columns 359-86, on the pre-Budget report, what his policy is on the future of tax relief for employer-supported child care.

Stephen Timms: On 4 December the Prime Minister announced Government's policy in relation to employer supported child care.
	The Prime Minister confirmed that all families who currently receive vouchers will continue to get the same support in the future. He also set out that tax relief will be retained for any new child care vouchers that are issued in the future and that, from April 2011, all new recipients of child care vouchers will get the same income tax relief as basic rate taxpayers do currently. This will ensure that the system does not disproportionately benefit higher rate taxpayers.

Child Trust Fund

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what expenditure HM Revenue and Customs incurred on advertising child trust funds in 2008-09.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Information in relation to the media costs incurred by HM Revenue and Customs for the child trust fund is contained in table 7 of the 2009 Statistical Report which can be viewed on HM Revenue and Customs' website:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/ctf/statistical-report-2009.pdf

Child Trust Fund: Operating Costs

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost of  (a) payments under and  (b) administration of the Child Trust Fund scheme has been in each year since 2006.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The annual cost of making child trust fund payments can be found in HM Revenue and Customs' departmental accounts, published annually on the HM Revenue and Customs website. Reports for 2006-07 accounts and subsequent years can be found at:
	www.hmrc.gov.uk/about/reports.htm
	The administration costs incurred by HMRC for the Child Trust Fund in 2008-09 and earlier years are set out in table 8 of the 2009 Statistical Report, which is available at:
	www.hmrc.gov.uk/ctf

Crown Estate Commissioners: Internet

David Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what redesigns of websites operated by the Crown Estate have been carried out since 27 June 2007; and what the  (a) cost to the public purse and  (b) date of completion of each such redesign was.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Crown Estate has not redesigned any websites it operates since 27 June 2007.

Crown Estate: Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what payments the Crown Estate has made to Political Developments Limited in the last 12 months; for what purposes; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the contract under which such payments were made.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Crown Estate has made two payments to Political Developments Limited in the last 12 months, one for £562.50 on 10 June 2009, and another for £4,033.75 on 7 August 2009. Both relate to media relations and engagement in respect of land-use issues with local authorities in and around the Luton area, where the Crown Estate has a major landholding. The work was not undertaken as part of a long-term contractual appointment.

Debt Management Office: Internet

David Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what redesigns of websites operated by the Debt Management Office have been carried out since 27 June 2007; and what the  (a) cost to the public purse and  (b) date of completion of each such redesign was;
	(2)  what redesigns of websites operated by the Public Works Loans Board have been carried out since 27 June 2007; and what the  (a) cost to the public purse and  (b) date of completion of each such redesign was.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: There have been no website redesigns since 27 June 2007.

Departmental Buildings

John Baron: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department spent on works and refurbishment to offices allocated to Ministers in his Department's buildings in the last 12 months.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: A full PFI refurbishment of 1 Horse Guards road was completed in 2002. Works and refurbishment to offices allocated to Ministers since that date is included in the annual unitary payment made to the PFI provider and is not recorded separately.

Departmental Conferences/Training Courses

John Baron: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  which conferences held overseas have been attended by civil servants based in his Department in the last three years; and what the cost to the public purse was of such attendance at each conference;
	(2)  how many overseas training courses were attended by his Department's civil servants in the latest period for which figures are available; how many civil servants attended each course; and what the total cost to the public purse was of each course.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Treasury does not hold a central record of attendances at training courses or conferences held overseas and the information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Energy

Grant Shapps: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the  (a) energy rating and  (b) energy band of each building occupied by his Department and its agencies was in each year for which figures are available.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave him on 11 November 2009,  Official Report, column 586W.

Departmental Freedom of Information

Sarah Teather: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 his Department received in 2008; and how many of these received a substantive response within 20 days.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Ministry of Justice has published this information in its annual statistics for 2008 on the operation of the FOI Act. The MOJ report is available online at the following URL; the information is in table 2, page 14:
	www.justice.gov.uk/publications/docs/foi-statistics-report-2008.pdf

Departmental Internet

David Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what redesigns of websites operated by  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies have been carried out since 27 June 2007; and what the (i) cost to the public purse and (ii) date of completion of each such redesign was.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The 2009 pre-Budget report microsite was redesigned in October 2009. The majority of the websites maintained by HM Treasury have not been subject to any redesign since 2006. Any cost or timescale associated with a redesign is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Websites operated by the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Department: 
			  Website  Redesign cost (£) 
			 http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk Nil-no redesign since 2004 
			 http://prebudget.treasury.gov.uk 4,578.50 
			 http://www.isb.gov.uk Nil-no redesign since 2003 
			 http://www.gfp.gov.uk Nil-no redesign since 2006 
			 http://www.ogc.gov.uk 54,000

Departmental Sick Leave

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many days sickness absence were taken by staff in his Department and its agencies in each of the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The total days of sick leave taken by the Department and its agencies in the latest 12-month period for which data are available can be found in the following table.
	
		
			   Days of sick leave July 2008 to June 2009 
			 HM Treasury 3,784 
			 OGC 672 
			 DMO 310 
			 Total 4,766

Departmental Telephone Services

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many telephone lines with the prefix  (a) 0870,  (b) 0845 and  (c) 0800 his Department (i) operates and (ii) sponsors; how many calls were received to each number in the last 12 months; and whether alternative numbers charged at the BT local rate are available in each case.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: HM Treasury operates and funds the following telephone lines:
	
		
			  Prefix  Lines operated and funded  Local rate alternative available  Calls in last 12 months 
			 0870 0 n/a n/a 
			 
			 0845 1 Yes 23,250 
			  1 Yes 38,625 
			 
			 0800 1 n/a (1)- 
			 (1) Available only at disproportionate cost

Departmental Training

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies have spent on away days in the last 12 months; and what the (i) subject and (ii) location of each away day was.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: No central records are held on Treasury teams' away days and the information could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

Financial Services Authority: Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what payments the Financial Services Authority has made to  (a) College Public Policy and  (b) Connect Public Affairs in the last 12 months; for what purposes; and if he will place in the Library a copy of each contract under which such payments were made.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The matter raised in this question is the responsibility of the Financial Services Authority (FSA), whose day-to-day operations are independent from Government control and influence. I have asked the chief executive of the FSA to write to the hon. Member on the issue he raises.

Government Actuary's Department: Hotels

Anne Main: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the Government Actuary's Department has spent on hotel accommodation for its officials in each of the last five years.

Ian Pearson: The Government Actuary's Department incurred the following amounts on hotel accommodation in the last five financial years:
	
		
			  £000 
			   Total cost incurred  Costs recovered from GAD clients  Net cost to GAD 
			 2009-10 (to date) 25 13 12 
			 2008-09 34 27 7 
			 2007-08 36 27 9 
			 2006-07 22 16 6 
			 2005-06 27 (1)- (1)- 
			 (1) Figures not available.

Government Actuary's Department: Internet

David Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what redesigns of websites operated by the Government Actuary's Department have been carried out since 27 June 2007; and what the  (a) cost to the public purse and  (b) date of completion of each such redesign was.

Ian Pearson: Since 27 June 2007 a two-stage redesign of the Government Actuary's Department website has been conducted.
	1. To reflect GAD's revised corporate identity, completed in October 2007 at a cost of £9,684.
	2. To comply with the AAA accessibility standard, completed in May 2009 at a cost of £9,777.

Hotels

Anne Main: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department spent on hotel accommodation for  (a) Ministers,  (b) special advisers and  (c) civil servants in each of the last five years.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	All travel and subsistence is conducted in accordance with the requirements of the Ministerial Code, Travel by Ministers and the Civil Service Management Code.

Hotels

Anne Main: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how much the Public Works Loan Board has spent on hotel accommodation for its staff in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how much the Debt Management Office has spent on hotel accommodation for its staff in each of the last five years.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The following figures show a combined DMO and PWLB view including cost of accommodation, meals and incidental items. The DMO does not separately record expenditure incurred on hotel accommodation and does not record these items of expenditure separately for the PWLB.
	
		
			   £000 
			 2004-05 6 
			 2005-06 10 
			 2006-07 6 
			 2007-08 19 
			 2008-09 7

Members: Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to reply to the letter dated 5 November 2009 from the hon. Member for Walsall North transferred to HM Treasury, reference 7/19547/2009.

Stephen Timms: A reply was sent last week.

Non-Domestic Rates: Valuation

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the answer of 22 October 2009,  Official Report, column 1672W, on non-domestic rates: valuation, what the average rateable value in each sub-location  (a) was on the 2005 and  (b) is on the draft 2010 Rating List.

Ian Pearson: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Non-Domestic Rates: Valuation

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what methodology the Valuation Office Agency uses for valuing electric car charging points for business rates.

Ian Pearson: The Valuation Office Agency has a duty to ensure all relevant non-domestic hereditaments are assessed for rates on rating lists. This helps to maintain fairness in the rating system. Where a car charging point is a relevant hereditament then it will be assessed for rateable value having regard to its annual rental value at the valuation date (which for the current 2005 rating list is 1 April 2003).

Non-Domestic Rates: Ports

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the Valuation Office Agency's special category code is for  (a) ports and  (b) firms within ports; and whether this coding has changed as a result of the changes made to business rates on ports.

Ian Pearson: The Valuation Office Agency's Specialist Category Codes (SCAT) for  (a) ports are code 433 for statutory docks and harbours (formula), code 434 for statutory docks and harbours (non formula), code 435 statutory docks and harbours (other) and code 089 docks and harbours (non-statutory).
	It is not possible to identify  (b) the firms within ports by a SCAT code as this will vary depending on the use of the property. No changes have been made to SCAT codes as a result of changes made to business rates on ports.

Northern Rock: Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what payments Northern Rock has made to FD Public Affairs in the last 12 months; for what purposes; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the contract under which such payments were made.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: During this period of temporary public ownership, Northern Rock is managed by its board at arm's length from the Government on commercial principles. It is a matter for the company's management to release specific business updates or provide any required disclosures in their audited annual report and accounts.

Origin Marking: Israel

Rob Marris: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many consignments of falsely-labelled goods originating from producers in Israeli settlements in  (a) the West Bank,  (b) the Golan Heights and  (c) East Jerusalem were detected by HM Revenue and Customs in (i) 2004-05, (ii) 2005-06, (iii) 2006-07, (iv) 2007-08 and (v) 2008-09.

Stephen Timms: The following number of consignments on which preferential rates of duty were claimed under the EU-Israel Agreement have been identified as having originated in Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2004 99 
			 2005 128 
			 2006 127 
			 2007 214 
			 2008 11 
			 2009 18

Public Expenditure

Andrew Turner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was paid to each devolved administration under the Barnett formula in the most recent financial year for which figures are available; and what corresponding funding allocation was made to Government departments in respect of services delivered in  (a) England only,  (b) England and Wales,  (c) England, Wales and Northern Ireland,  (d) England, Wales and Scotland and  (e) the UK.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 7 December 2009
	Changes in the Departmental Expenditure Limits (DEL) of the devolved Administrations are normally determined by the Barnett formula. The settlements were published in the 2007 comprehensive spending review White Paper (Cm 7227). The latest figures for the DELs of the devolved Administrations are published in Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses (PESA) (Cm 7630). Comparative data on spending for the benefit of each country and region of the UK are also published in PESA, including a breakdown of this spending by function.

Public Sector: Pensions

Tom Watson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  if he will estimate the net annual saving to the Exchequer of capping at £50,000 per annum the benefit payable under all currently accruing defined benefit public sector pension schemes not yet in payment which are estimated to provide a benefit of less than £50,000 annually; and what amendments to public sector pension rules would be required to give effect to such a change;
	(2)  if he will estimate the net annual saving to the Exchequer of capping at £50,000 per annum the benefit from all future public sector defined benefit pensions funded from the public purse; and what amendments to public sector pension rules would be required to give effect to such a change;
	(3)  if he will estimate the net annual saving to the Exchequer of ceasing increases in funding from the public purse to defined benefit public sector pensions not yet in payment which are worth over £50,000 annually; and what amendments to public sector pension rules would be required to give effect to such a change.

Liam Byrne: The savings from a cap on pensions in payment would take a number of years to accrue as only future pension rights could legally be capped. Data are not centrally available to estimate annual savings to the Exchequer on such future pension rights.

Revenue and Customs

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his latest estimate is of the cost of  (a) developing and  (b) publicising the new charter for HM Revenue and Customs.

Stephen Timms: The Department has spent £170,000 to develop and £12,000 to publicise the Charter over a two-year period. The cost was met from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs' (HMRC) existing budget and covers marketing, research and consultation. This delivered a Charter that stakeholder groups have agreed will be a positive step towards HMRC building better relationships with taxpayers and claimants.

Revenue and Customs: Hotels

Anne Main: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much HM Revenue and Customs has spent on hotel accommodation for its officials in each of the last five years.

Stephen Timms: From information available, the total cost of hotel accommodation for HM Revenue and Customs officials in each of the last five years is as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			 April to October 2009 7,680,247 
			 April 2008 to March 2009 17,785,927 
			 April 2007 to March 2008 18,064,771 
			 April 2006 to March 2007 17,664,696 
			 April 2005 to March 2006 (1)- 
			 (1) Figures unavailable 
		
	
	Spend figures between April 2007 to present day are based on management information provided by HMRCs 'Hotel' contract supplier.

Revenue and Customs: Internet

David Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what redesigns of websites operated by HM Revenue and Customs have been carried out since 27 June 2007; and what the  (a) cost to the public purse and  (b) date of completion of each such redesign was.

Stephen Timms: HM Revenue and Customs has not undertaken a redesign of its website. It has however made significant incremental improvements to the site since April 2008-including new content, improved navigation and a new look and feel in key sections of the site. This work is an integral part of its Service Transformation Agreement and commitment to converge content and services on www.direct.gov.uk and www.businesslink.gov.uk by 2011. Costs are projected at a total of £10.7 million over the period 2007-08 to 2010-11.

Revenue and Customs: Somerset

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans there are to change the opening hours of HM Revenue and Customs Enquiry Centres in Somerset; and what assessment has been made of the likely effect of reduced opening hours at such centres on the elderly.

Stephen Timms: Demand for face to face advice from HMRC Enquiry Centres has fallen heavily in recent years as customers increasingly turn to the telephone and internet for information. As a result HMRC is reviewing the pattern of service provision to better match service availability to customer demand. This includes considering moving to part week opening in some Enquiry Centres.
	The first phase of the review includes Enquiry Centres in Frome, Wells and Bridgewater. The impact of these changes is being assessed by engagement with local external customer representative bodies including MPs, local authorities, Help the Aged, the Citizens Advice Bureaux and others. HMRC is also consulting with local staff, managers and trade unions. An Equality Impact Assessment of changes to Enquiry Centre opening hours will be published prior to any changes being made.
	HMRC remains committed to providing a face to face service for those customers that need one at or close to each location where they provide one now.

Royal Mint: Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what payments the Royal Mint has made to Grayling Political Strategy in the last 12 months; for what purposes; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the contract under which such payments were made.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: No payments have been made to Grayling Political Strategy in the last 12 months.

Stamp Duty Land Tax

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment has been made of the likely effect on the housing market of the lowering of the threshold for stamp duty.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The stamp duty holiday was designed to provide Government support for homebuyers. The stimulus it offers relies on it being temporary. The Government expect 240,000 transactions to have benefited from the holiday when it is brought to a close at the end of December.

Taxation: Banks

Peter Bone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what the maximum amount of tax was that each of the banks in which the Government has a stake could save by off-setting previous losses at the latest date for which figures are available;
	(2)  what the losses for tax purposes of each of the banks in which the Government have a stake were at the latest date for which figures are available.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: holding answer 10 December 2009
	Historical aggregate figures for the value of deductions against Corporation Tax paid by the financial sector are published in table 11.2, on the HMRC website.
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/corporate_tax/table11_2.pdf
	However, it is not possible to publish HMRC estimates of the loss position of individual banks due to rules protecting taxpayer confidentiality. Published 2008 accounts for both RBS and Lloyds banking group are available on their respective websites:
	http://www.rbs.com/microsites/gra2008/index.htm
	http://www.lloydsbankinggroup-annualreport.com/2008/

Taxation: Banks

Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the tax losses carried forward by banks from the  (a) 2007-08 and  (b) 2008-09 financial year.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave him on 27 October 2009,  Official Report, column 275W.

Taxation: Business

Mark Prisk: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many  (a) small and medium-sized and  (b) other enterprises which made Time to Pay arrangements with HM Revenue and Customs to defer tax through the Business Payment Support Service have (i) not met their tax liabilities when they became due and (ii) extended their Time to Pay arrangement period to date; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: Over 90 per cent. of the value of tax that has become due under Time to Pay arrangements agreed through the Business Payment Support Service launched in November 2008 is being paid in line with agreed instalments. HMRC does not collect information on repayment of arrangements broken down by size of business.
	Where businesses are struggling to meet their payments they are able to renegotiate an existing arrangement provided that HMRC believe the business is likely to be able to pay the tax due if given more time. All requests continue to be assessed on the same basis and there has been no change in HMRC's policy on offering Time to Pay in such circumstances.
	Information about the number of businesses requesting extensions of their Time to Pay arrangements could currently be provided only at disproportionate cost, but it is intended to compile data in due course.

Taxation: Health Professions

Mark Oaten: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 1 December 2009,  Official Report, column 655W, on health professions: pay, for what reasons  (a) pharmacy contractors are and  (b) appliance contractors are not zero-rated for value added tax.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 10 December 2009
	VAT is a broad-based tax on consumer expenditure and reliefs from it have always been strictly limited. When the UK joined the European Community (EC) in 1973, we signed up to the agreements which govern the application of VAT throughout the EC. Under these and successive agreements the UK is allowed to keep zero rates of VAT on certain items-many of which had been exempt from the purchase tax which preceded VAT-including drugs and medicines supplied by a pharmacist against a prescription. Most other goods and services became taxable at the standard rate and have remained taxable ever since. This includes most goods supplied by appliance contractors.

Taxation: Holiday Accommodation

Annette Brooke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the repeal of the furnished holiday lettings rules on farmers who have diversified into tourism and related businesses.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 10 December 2009
	In 2007-08 approximately 60,000 individuals declared income from Furnished Holiday Lettings to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), approximately 2,500 of whom also declared income from farming. After the Furnished Holiday Lettings rules are withdrawn, these businesses will still be able to claim various tax reliefs including loss relief, a deduction for business expenses, and an allowance for capital expenditure. Therefore the impact on continuing, viable businesses is expected to be limited.
	HMRC published an impact assessment on 9 December 2009, available at:
	www.hmrc.gov.uk/pbr2009/furnished-holiday-ia-3760.pdf

Valuation

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the answer of 11 November 2009,  Official Report, column 521W, on business improvement districts, whether the Valuation Office Agency has increased the rateable values of properties in the recent 2010 revaluation consequent on improved activity undertaken by business improvement district.

Ian Pearson: The aim of a rating valuation is to arrive at the rental value of the premises at the standard valuation date. Activity undertaken by business improvement districts will result in changes to the rating valuation of a property only if and when it materially affects the rental value of that property.

Welfare Tax Credits: Grandparents

Maria Miller: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for which tax credit schemes administered by his Department a retired grandparent is eligible in respect of a grandchild who is being fostered by that grandparent.

Stephen Timms: HM Revenue and Customs administer child tax credit (CTC), child benefit and guardian's allowance. A grandparent or any other person who is responsible for the care of a child or qualifying young person is eligible to claim CTC, child benefit, and, in some circumstances, guardian's allowance for that child or qualifying young person providing the qualifying criteria are met.
	However, where the child is placed in the care of the grandparent under a fostering arrangement, eligibility will be dependent on the terms of that arrangement. When a local authority pays for the child's accommodation and maintenance child benefit, CTC and guardian's allowance are not paid for the foster child in order to avoid duplicate provision. However, if exceptionally, the local authority does not do this then the foster parents may be eligible for child benefit, CTC and in some cases guardian's allowance for the foster child.

Welfare Tax Credits: Lancashire

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average time taken to resolve disputed tax credit cases involving custody of children was in  (a) Chorley and  (b) Lancashire in each of the last three years.

Stephen Timms: This information is not available. HM Revenue and Customs endeavours to award all new claims as quickly as possible but delays can arise where enquiries have to be made and the conclusions are disputed.

Working Tax Credit

Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the take-up rate of working tax credit is among  (a) those also claiming child tax credit and  (b) those not claiming child tax credit; and what assessment he has made of the effect upon such take-up rates of implementation of the relevant measures announced in Budget 2009.

Stephen Timms: Estimates of working tax credit take-up rates for 2006-07, which are the latest available, are provided in the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) publication Child and Working Tax Credit Take-up rates 2006-07. This publication is available at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-take-up2006-07.pdf
	The Government recognise that more can be done for people without children, and has set an ambitious target to raise take-up of working tax credit among this group by 100,000 by April 2011. HMRC are making good progress by using a range of measures to reach eligible customers, such as writing to 10,000 households identified through PAYE records; partnership marketing with large employers and others, national and local marketing activity via radio and newspaper advertising, and by working jointly with the Department for Work and Pensions and local authorities as part of the In and Out of Work project.
	Separate estimates of the impact of these activities on take-up rates are not available. However, HMRC estimate that taken together these will enable them to meet the target in April 2011.

Working Tax Credit

Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the eligibility rules on hours and incomes are for each type of working tax credit; and when these rules were last reviewed.

Stephen Timms: HM Revenue and Customs publish detailed information and guidance on its website at:
	www.hmrc.gov.uk/taxcredits/index.htm
	and in leaflet WTC2 - Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit - A Guide available at:
	www.hmrc.gov.uk/leaflets/wtc2.pdf
	As I explained to my hon. Friend in the answer I gave him on 24 June 2009,  Official Report, columns 897-98W, all aspects of tax credits are kept under review, with any decisions made as part of the Budget process.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Christmas

David Davies: To ask the Solicitor-General how many Christmas trees were purchased by the Law Officers' Departments in each of the last five years; what the cost was of those trees in each year; from where the trees were sourced; what account was taken of the sustainability of the sources of the trees; and by what process the trees were disposed of.

Vera Baird: Where available, details on the purchases and polices of each Law Officers' Department are outlined as follows. In general where Christmas trees have been purchased attempts have been made to source and dispose of them in a sustainable way, as well as to keep costs to a minimum.
	The Attorney-General's Office has purchased four Christmas trees during the last five years at a total cost of £409.60. This year due to cost cutting measures no tree has been purchased.
	All the trees were purchased from suppliers who only buy trees from accredited sustainable sources. All the trees were recycled, ending up as wood chips for bridle paths or fertiliser. The exact breakdown of costs on a yearly basis is as follows;
	
		
			   £ 
			 2005-06 112.00 
			 2006-07 105.85 
			 2007-08 117.90 
			 2008-09 74.85 
		
	
	The Serious Fraud Office has purchased the following Christmas trees over the last five years:
	
		
			   Number  £ (inc. VAT) 
			 2005 1 Christmas tree purchased from Christmas Tree Land 56.99 
			 2006 1 Christmas tree purchased from Christmas Tree Land 64.98 
			 2007 1 Christmas tree purchased from Christmas Tree Land (1)70.00 
			 2008 1 artificial tree hire service from Phs Greenleaf 287.82 
			 2009 1 'Real' tree hire service from Phs Greenleaf 408.82 
			 (1) Estimated figure 
		
	
	From 2005 to 2007 the Christmas trees purchased from Christmas Tree Land were grown on plantations and harvested like any other sustainable crop. The trees were disposed of via Camden Council's Christmas tree collection service. In 2008 the artificial tree was collected by Phs Greenleaf at the end of the hire period for reuse. In 2009 the 'Real' Tree from Phs Greenleaf was from a sustainable tree farm and will be collected by Phs, Gunnersbury branch, who dispose of trees via the local council who then use the chippings on pathways and nature trails throughout the borough.
	HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) purchases a maximum of one tree per annum which is situated in its reception area. HMCPSI does not record such costs separately from other general accommodation costs and is therefore unable to provide information in respect of past years. However, the amount spent in December 2009 was £39 and this is believed to be the highest amount.
	Records are not kept on from where the trees were sourced, what account was taken of the sustainability of the sources of the trees and by what process the trees were disposed. Where possible and practicable all waste is recycled usually through its local authority.
	Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office has made no purchases of real Christmas trees during each of the last five years. It did however purchase three artificial Christmas trees in November 2005, at a total cost of £300, all of which are still in use.
	The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not keep central records of the number, cost, provenance or disposal arrangements in relation to Christmas trees and could provide this information only at a disproportionate cost.
	The Treasury Solicitor's Department and the National Fraud Authority have not purchased any Christmas trees during the last five years.

Convictions

Edward Garnier: To ask the Solicitor-General how many and what proportion of cases which went to a contested trial resulted in convictions in each of the last five years.

Vera Baird: The following table shows the number of defendants whose case resulted in conviction or in an unsuccessful outcome after a contested hearing in each of the last five years.
	 Outcome of contested hearings
	
		
			  Magistrates court 
			   Convicted after trial  Percentage  Dismissed  Percentage  Total contests 
			 2004-05(1) 42,432 67.3 20,589 32.7 63,021 
			 2005-06 38,076 64.5 20,974 35.5 59,050 
			 2006-07 34,979 63.5 20,091 36.5 55,070 
			 2007-08 36,899 64.1 20,658 35.9 57,557 
			 2008-09 33,390 62.1 20,389 37.9 53,779 
		
	
	
		
			  Crown Court 
			   Convicted after trial  Percentage  Acquitted  Percentage  Total contests 
			 2004-05(1) 10,059 57.1 7,544 42.9 17,603 
			 2005-06 8,684 55.0 7,096 45.0 15,780 
			 2006-07 8,200 53.9 7,000 46.1 15,200 
			 2007-08 7,705 54.4 6,459 45.6 14,164 
			 2008-09 7,891 54.1 6,682 45.9 14,573 
			 (1) Full implementation of the electronic Compass Case Management System in 2004 led to appreciable improvements in the quality and consistency of the data. Figures for 2004-05 are not directly comparable with the improved information recorded subsequently.

Crown Prosecution Service

Edward Garnier: To ask the Solicitor-General how much has been allocated in the Crown Prosecution Service budgets for  (a) London and  (b) each of its 42 regional offices for the employment of agency staff in each of the last three years.

Vera Baird: The following table indicates the budgets allocated for the employment of agency staff by the Crown Prosecution Service for London and each of its 42 operational areas in each of the last three years.
	
		
			  £ 
			  Area  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Avon and Somerset 34,000 57,600 90,438 
			 Bedfordshire - - - 
			 Cambridgeshire - 5,720 - 
			 Cheshire 1,400 3,633 - 
			 Cleveland - - 7,028 
			 Cumbria - 15,000 210 
			 Derbyshire 97,101 78,837 69,307 
			 Devon and Cornwall  18,320 4,800 
			 Dorset - - - 
			 Durham 41,574 54,743  
			 Dyfed Powys 9,203 7,000 1,500 
			 Essex 100,500 177,905 245,653 
			 Gloucestershire 2,500  3,000 
			 Greater Manchester 1,451 29,474 37,590 
			 Gwent 7,127 5,500 - 
			 Hampshire - - - 
			 Hertfordshire 20,000 - - 
			 Humberside 61,921 19,813 9,881 
			 Kent 53,883 93,312 143,062 
			 Lancashire 22,592 24,193 48,750 
			 Leicestershire - 8,000 - 
			 Lincolnshire 10,780 11,000 - 
			 Merseyside - - - 
			 Metropolitan and City - 39,581 - 
			 Norfolk 8,000 10,000 - 
			 Northamptonshire 1,000 20,000 23,000 
			 Northumbria - - - 
			 North Wales 31,473 8,150 12,450 
			 North Yorkshire 10,248 2,581 - 
			 Nottinghamshire - - - 
			 South Wales 12,000 7,605 - 
			 South Yorkshire - 18,933 22,400 
			 Staffordshire - - - 
			 Suffolk - 111,529 15,572 
			 Surrey - 1,500 9,000 
			 Sussex 5,000 - 10,000 
			 Thames Valley 2,200 27,600 99,450 
			 Warwickshire 8,000 8,000 - 
			 West Mercia 62,859 - - 
			 West Midlands - - - 
			 West Yorkshire 212,286 211,539 244,488 
			 Wiltshire - 7,200 1,900 
			 CPS Direct 26,080 5,100 21,000 
			 Organised Crime Division 240,505 - - 
			 Special Crime Division - - - 
			 Counter Terrorism Division - - - 
			 Headquarters 1,274,068 676,529 694,526 
			 Business Centres 240,500 161,000 195,205 
			 Total 3,872,318 2,603,426 2,704,735

Crown Prosecution Service

Edward Garnier: To ask the Solicitor-General what professional qualifications or skills are required of a Crown Prosecution Service area business manager.

Vera Baird: The Crown prosecution Service (CPS) requires its Area Business Managers (ABMs) to meet the leadership, core and professional skills requirements specified by the Professional Skills for Government (PSG) frameworks. We do not currently require further formal professional qualifications from staff to fill these roles. All ABMs are encouraged to undertake external accredited learning, such as Diplomas from the Institute of Leadership and Management. They are also required to maintain their finance, procurement, risk and performance management skills throughout the year, through a programme of learning and development.

Crown Prosecution Service

Edward Garnier: To ask the Solicitor-General how much the Crown Prosecution Service  (a) spent and  (b) allocated for the purposes of equality and diversity services in each of the last five years.

Vera Baird: The following table shows how much the Crown Prosecution Service has  (a) spent and  (b) allocated for the purposes of equality and diversity services in each of the last five years.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Total E and D budget allocated  Total E and D expenditure 
			 2004-05 1.8 1.7 
			 2005-06 2.2 2.0 
			 2006-07 2.2 2.2 
			 2007-08 2.4 2.4 
			 2008-09 2.4 2.4

Crown Prosecution Service

Edward Garnier: To ask the Solicitor-General how much the Crown Prosecution Service spent on transporting to and from court at all stages prior to the conclusion of a trial defendants who had been arrested under bench warrants not backed for bail in each of the last five years.

Vera Baird: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has no role in the transportation of those accused of offences at any stage of legal proceedings.

Crown Prosecution Service

Edward Garnier: To ask the Solicitor-General how many diversity and equality managers have been employed by the Crown Prosecution Service in  (a) London and  (b) each of its 42 regional offices in each of the last five years; and at what cost such managers were employed in each such year.

Vera Baird: From 2004 to 2007 the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) employed 10 Equality and Diversity Managers, one representing each of the 10 regional Service Centre groups, which included London. From 2007 to date, there have been two Equality and Diversity managers employed in London and 14 in the remaining parts of England and Wales, aligned to the CPS Group structure. The costs for employing such managers in 2004-05 were £319,230, in 2005-06 £320,770, in 2006-07 £321,660, in 2007-08 £458,724 and in 2008-09 £601,952.

Crown Prosecution Service

Edward Garnier: To ask the Solicitor-General how many disciplinary rulings have been made against Crown Prosecution Service staff in  (a) London and  (b) each of its 42 regional offices in each of the last five years.

Vera Baird: The number of Crown Prosecution Service staff dismissed for cause in each of the last five years is detailed in the following table. The CPS has not made any member of staff redundant over this period.
	
		
			  Number of Crown Prosecution Service staff dismissed for cause, 9 December 2009 
			   2008-09  2007-08  2006-07  2005-06  2004-05 
			 Casework 1  2 1 - 
			 Headquarters 1 1 2 - 3 
			 CPS London 6 2 3 6 3 
			 CPS Avon and Somerset - - 1 - - 
			 CPS Bedfordshire - - - 1 - 
			 CPS Cambridgeshire - - - - - 
			 CPS CPSD - - - - - 
			 CPS Cheshire - - - 1 - 
			 CPS Cleveland - 1 1 - - 
			 CPS Cumbria - - - - - 
			 CPS Derbyshire - 1 1 - 1 
			 CPS Devon  Cornwall - 1 - - - 
			 CPS Dorset 1 - - - - 
			 CPS Durham 1 - - - 1 
			 CPS Dyfed Powys - - - - - 
			 CPS Essex 1 - - - - 
			 CPS Gloucestershire - - 1 - - 
			 CPS Greater Manchester 2 1 - - 1 
			 CPS Gwent - - 1 - - 
			 CPS Hampshire 1 1 1 - - 
			 CPS Hertfordshire 1 - - - - 
			 CPS Humberside 1 - - - - 
			 CPS Kent - - - - - 
			 CPS Lancashire 1 - - - - 
			 CPS Leicestershire - 1 1 - 1 
			 CPS Lincolnshire 1 - - - - 
			 CPS Merseyside - - - 2 - 
			 CPS Norfolk 1 2 - - 1 
			 CPS North Wales - - - - - 
			 CPS North Yorkshire - 1 - - 1 
			 CPS Northamptonshire 3 1 - - - 
			 CPS Northumbria - - - - 1 
			 CPS Nottinghamshire 2 - - - 2 
			 CPS South Wales - - - 1 3 
			 CPS South Yorkshire 1 - - - 1 
			 CPS Staffordshire - - - - - 
			 CPS Suffolk - - - - - 
			 CPS Surrey - - - - - 
			 CPS Sussex - - 1 2 - 
			 CPS Thames Valley 1 3 - - - 
			 CPS Warwickshire 1 - - - - 
			 CPS West Mercia - 1 - - - 
			 CPS West Midlands 2 - - - 2 
			 CPS West Yorkshire 1 - - - 1 
			 CPS Wiltshire - - - - - 
			 Total CPS 30 17 15 14 22

Crown Prosecution Service

Edward Garnier: To ask the Solicitor-General how many Crown Prosecution Service staff have been  (a) dismissed for cause and  (b) made redundant in (i) London and (ii) each of its 42 regional offices in each of the last five years.

Vera Baird: Over the last five years, there have been 256 disciplinary rulings made against Crown Prosecution Service staff. A breakdown of disciplinary rulings for this period is provided in the following table:
	
		
			  Disciplinary penalties by area 
			  Number 
			  Area  2005  2006  2007  2008  2009 
			 London 4 7 5 8 7 
			 Casework Directorate - - - - - 
			 Avon and Somerset 1 1 1 - - 
			 Bedfordshire 1 4 2 1 4 
			 Cambridgeshire - - - - - 
			 Cheshire 1 1 - 1 - 
			 Cleveland - - - 2 - 
			 Cumbria 1 - - - - 
			 Derbyshire - 2 2 4 2 
			 Devon and Cornwall - 1 - - - 
			 Dorset - - - - - 
			 Durham - 1 - 1 1 
			 Dyfed-Powys - - - 1 - 
			 Essex - - 1 1 1 
			 Gloucestershire - 1 - - - 
			 Greater Manchester 1 3 3 2 3 
			 Gwent - - - 1 - 
			 HQ 1 2 2 4 2 
			 Hampshire and IOW 1 - - - 4 
			 Hertfordshire - 1 - 2 2 
			 Humberside - 1 - 1 1 
			 Kent 1 - - -  
			 Lancashire 1 5 5 1 1 
			 Leicestershire 1 2 - 1 - 
			 Lincolnshire - - - - - 
			 Merseyside 1 9 5 1 1 
			 Norfolk - - - 1 1 
			 Northamptonshire - - 1 1 1 
			 North Wales - - - - - 
			 North Yorkshire - - - - 1 
			 Northumbria 1 1 1 2 3 
			 Nottinghamshire - 2 2 1 5 
			 South Yorkshire 1 6 2 - 3 
			 South Wales - 1 3 1 - 
			 Staffordshire - - 2 1 - 
			 Suffolk - 1 - - 7 
			 Surrey - - 3 - - 
			 Sussex - - - - - 
			 Thames Valley - 1 6 1 7 
			 Warwickshire - - - - 1 
			 Wiltshire - - - - - 
			 West Mercia - 1 - 1 - 
			 West Midlands 1 8 4 11 3 
			 West Yorkshire 2 1 3 3 1 
			 CPS Direct - 1 1 1 - 
			 Total 20 64 54 56 62

Crown Prosecution Service

Edward Garnier: To ask the Solicitor-General how many Crown Prosecution Service staff in  (a) London and  (b) each of its 42 regional offices took more than 10 days of sick leave in each of the last five years.

Vera Baird: Figures for the number of staff who have taken more than 10 days' sick leave in the five years since April 2004 are detailed in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of staff in each CPS area with more than 10 days sickness absence in the respective years. 8 December 2009 
			   April-March 
			  Area  2008-09  2007-08  2006-07  2005-06  2004-05 
			 HQ 79 91 89 75 66 
			 Casework 24 24 33 39 38 
			 CPS Direct 23 11 14 16 10 
			 CPS Avon and Somerset 29 28 26 36 39 
			 CPS Bedfordshire 4 2 5 7 13 
			 CPS Cambridgeshire 14 10 16 6 10 
			 CPS Cheshire 21 18 14 21 25 
			 CPS Cleveland 20 19 30 24 21 
			 CPS Cumbria 11 28 31 22 18 
			 CPS Derbyshire 31 33 33 31 40 
			 CPS Devon and Cornwall 37 36 39 38 31 
			 CPS Dorset 14 15 13 8 14 
			 CPS Durham 17 17 11 14 21 
			 CPS Dyfed/Powys 2 13 25 14 14 
			 CPS Essex 29 34 27 42 53 
			 CPS Gloucestershire 5 10 8 14 15 
			 CPS Greater Manchester 81 82 94 79 81 
			 CPS Gwent 13 17 21 10 17 
			 CPS Hampshire 34 35 41 37 46 
			 CPS Hertfordshire 22 17 14 20 18 
			 CPS Humberside 15 9 12 19 21 
			 CPS Kent 33 33 33 30 26 
			 CPS Lancashire 45 55 56 45 43 
			 CPS Leicestershire 23 25 26 23 21 
			 CPS Lincolnshire 13 22 17 16 19 
			 CPS London 244 290 286 316 283 
			 CPS Merseyside 57 76 70 80 76 
			 CPS Norfolk 6 14 6 16 19 
			 CPS North Wales 6 11 18 9 8 
			 CPS North Yorkshire 8 12 19 13 14 
			 CPS Northamptonshire 7 6 10 17 11 
			 CPS Northumbria 55 48 41 59 54 
			 CPS Nottinghamshire 32 22 27 45 47 
			 CPS South Wales 25 47 41 51 51 
			 CPS South Yorkshire 34 35 35 25 32 
			 CPS Staffordshire 17 36 27 23 17 
			 CPS Suffolk 12 10 14 10 8 
			 CPS Surrey 9 11 25 20 6 
			 CPS Sussex 28 22 22 20 29 
			 CPS Thames Valley 18 33 35 34 32 
			 CPS Warwickshire 2 1 6 5 5 
			 CPS West Mercia 29 35 40 35 41 
			 CPS West Midlands 104 85 109 113 91 
			 CPS West Yorkshire 53 44 61 49 73 
			 CPS Wiltshire 18 13 8 11 5 
			 Grand total 1,403 1,535 1,628 1,637 1,622 
			  Notes: 1. Total number of staff who had more than 10 working days lost to absence in the rolling year 2. Data extracted from epayfact (CPS Payroll System)

Crown Prosecution Service

Edward Garnier: To ask the Solicitor-General how many senior Crown Prosecution Service staff at grades above level D are High Court advocates; and at how many court sessions such staff advocated in court in each of the last five years.

Vera Baird: The Crown Prosecution Service currently employs 99 staff above level D who are higher court advocates. During the 2008-09 financial year, higher court advocates at level E or above conducted prosecutions at 1,425 sessions in the Crown court or higher courts. The following table shows the data for the last five completed years. For the years since 2007-08, these data include principal crown advocates, whose main function is the preparation and presentation of serious and complex cases at the crown court, as well as other senior lawyers in the CPS whose main function is in managing the operation of the prosecution service in London and across each of the 42 CPS areas. These staff are graded as senior civil servants, chief crown prosecutors, and level E unit heads.
	
		
			  Higher court advocates, Crown court attendances by grade 
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			  Grade  Number of sessions  Number of HCAs  Number of sessions  Number of HCAs  Number of sessions  Number of HCAs  Number of sessions  Number of HCAs  Number of sessions  Number of HCAs 
			 Senior Civil Servants 2 1 6 1 11 1 3 1 2 3 
			 Chief Crown Prosecutors 59 16 74 19 112 19 64 22 49 23 
			 Level E 440 72 1,113 70 1-204 72 1,834 71 1,334 67 
			 Principal Crown Advocate - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 40 6 
			 Total 501 89 1,193 90 1,327 92 1,901 94 1,425 99

Crown Prosecution Service

Edward Garnier: To ask the Solicitor-General how many and what proportion of staff employed by the Crown Prosecution Service in  (a) London and  (b) each of its 42 regional offices are designated as frontline staff.

Vera Baird: The CPS currently employs a total of 8,885 staff. 8,231 of these, or 93 per cent., are designated as frontline staff, as they carry out or support the prosecution process. The following table shows the number of staff in each of the CPS areas, and the proportion of frontline staff.
	
		
			  Area  Total staff  Number of frontline staff  Percentage of frontline staff 
			 Casework 356 356 100 
			 Headquarters 654 0 0 
			 CPS London 1,369 1,369 100 
			 CPS Avon and Somerset 182 182 100 
			 CPS Bedfordshire 73 73 100 
			 CPS Cambridgeshire 75 75 100 
			 CPS CPSD 163 163 100 
			 CPS Cheshire 112 112 100 
			 CPS Cleveland 103 103 100 
			 CPS Cumbria 83 83 100 
			 CPS Derbyshire 120 120 100 
			 CPS Devon and Cornwall 128 128 100 
			 CPS Dorset 77 77 100 
			 CPS Durham 97 97 100 
			 CPS Dyfed Powys 61 61 100 
			 CPS Essex 193 193 100 
			 CPS Gloucestershire 56 56 100 
			 CPS Greater Manchester 473 473 100 
			 CPS Gwent 83 83 100 
			 CPS Hampshire 247 247 100 
			 CPS Hertfordshire 117 117 100 
			 CPS Humberside 120 120 100 
			 CPS Kent 181 181 100 
			 CPS Lancashire 261 261 100 
			 CPS Leicestershire 123 123 100 
			 CPS Lincolnshire 71 71 100 
			 CPS Merseyside 256 256 100 
			 CPS Norfolk 92 92 100 
			 CPS North Wales 83 83 100) 
			 CPS North Yorkshire 87 87 100 
			 CPS Northamptonshire 78 78 100 
			 CPS Northumbria 274 274 100 
			 CPS Nottinghamshire 180 180 100 
			 CPS South Wales 243 243 100 
			 CPS South Yorkshire 196 196 100 
			 CPS Staffordshire 146 146 100 
			 CPS Suffolk 70 70 100 
			 CPS Surrey 85 85 100 
			 CPS Sussex 171 171 100 
			 CPS Thames Valley 248 248 100 
			 CPS Warwickshire 43 43 100 
			 CPS West Mercia 151 151 100 
			 CPS West Midlands 512 512 100) 
			 CPS West Yorkshire 330 330 100 
			 CPS Wiltshire 62 62 100 
			 Total CPS 8,885 8,231 93

Crown Prosecution Service

Edward Garnier: To ask the Solicitor-General how many  (a) solicitors,  (b) barristers and  (c) non-legal staff are employed by the Crown Prosecution Service in (i) London and (ii) each of its 42 regional offices.

Vera Baird: The numbers of  (a) solicitors,  (b) barristers and  (c) non-legal staff for each of the CPS areas are detailed in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of solicitors, barristers and non-legal staff in the Crown Prosecution Service-9 December 2009 
			   Barristers  Solicitors  Associate prosecutors  Non-legal  Total 
			 Casework 69 92 0 193 354 
			 HQ 21 34 0 596 651 
			 CPS Direct 39 108 0 15 162 
			 CPS Avon and Somerset 28 51 11 93 183 
			 CPS Bedfordshire 6 23 6 38 73 
			 CPS Cambridgeshire 8 20 5 41 74 
			 CPS Cheshire 7 39 8 57 111 
			 CPS Cleveland 7 28 6 61 102 
			 CPS Cumbria 5 25 5 47 82 
			 CPS Derbyshire 7 35 6 72 120 
			 CPS Devon and Cornwall 14 35 8 67 124 
			 CPS Dorset 8 23 7 39 77 
			 CPS Durham 1 34 6 56 97 
			 CPS Dyfed Powys 2 20 3 38 63 
			 CPS Essex 23 44 11 112 190 
			 CPS Gloucestershire 6 16 3 31 56 
			 CPS Greater Manchester 33 148 32 262 475 
			 CPS Gwent 5 25 4 47 81 
			 CPS Hampshire 29 68 14 134 245 
			 CPS Hertfordshire 24 26 7 61 118 
			 CPS Humberside 12 32 9 68 121 
			 CPS Kent 24 42 10 105 181 
			 CPS Lancashire 17 79 11 154 261 
			 CPS Leicestershire 12 34 9 67 122 
			 CPS Lincolnshire 7 20 4 40 71 
			 CPS London 188 283 70 814 1,355 
			 CPS Merseyside 13 79 14 150 256 
			 CPS Norfolk 11 21 7 53 92 
			 CPS North Wales 6 26 6 45 83 
			 CPS North Yorkshire 6 26 7 48 87 
			 CPS Northamptonshire 5 21 6 46 78 
			 CPS Northumbria 9 90 13 162 274 
			 CPS Nottinghamshire 11 52 13 105 181 
			 CPS South Wales 18 74 14 138 244 
			 CPS South Yorkshire 8 60 11 118 197 
			 CPS Staffordshire 8 53 10 76 147 
			 CPS Suffolk 7 19 6 39 71 
			 CPS Surrey 14 25 5 42 86 
			 CPS Sussex 21 55 11 83 170 
			 CPS Thames Valley 26 62 15 142 245 
			 CPS Warwickshire 4 14 3 22 43 
			 CPS West Mercia 10 43 14 82 149 
			 CPS West Midlands 38 158 27 283 506 
			 CPS West Yorkshire 17 98 24 192 331 
			 CPS Wiltshire 9 17 5 31 62 
			 Total CPS 843 2,377 466 5,165 8,851

Crown Prosecution Service

Edward Garnier: To ask the Solicitor-General in how many cases prosecuted in each of the last five years the Crown Prosecution Service opposed bail; and in how many such cases in respect of which legal proceedings have been completed bail was not granted.

Vera Baird: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not maintain central records relating to applications for bail.
	To provide this information would involve checking paper records across the CPS and would incur disproportionate costs.

Crown Prosecution Service

Edward Garnier: To ask the Solicitor-General how many consultations the Crown Prosecution Service has initiated in each of the last five years; what the cost was of each such consultation; how many external consultants were contracted to provide services in respect of each such consultation; and what changes to prosecution policy were made as a consequence of each such consultation.

Vera Baird: The Crown Prosecution Service's answer is provided in the following table:
	
		
			  Year of consultation exercise  Publication that was the subject of consultation  Whether external consultants were used 
			 2004 Prosecuting cases of Domestic Violence No 
			  Code for Crown Prosecutors No 
			
			 2005 Children and Young People No 
			  Race Equality Scheme Yes, external consultants used to conduct a consultation workshop. 
			
			 2006 Prosecuting cases of Bad Driving Yes, external consultants used to facilitate two focus groups and prepare reports based on the discussions. 
			  Single Equality Scheme Yes, external consultants used to conduct a consultation workshop. 
			  Prosecuting cases involving the Intentional or Reckless Sexual Transmission of Infection Yes, external consultants used to facilitate two focus groups and prepare reports based on the discussions. 
			  Disability Hate Crime Yes, external consultants used to facilitate a focus group and prepare a report based on the discussions. 
			
			 2007 Racist and Religious Hate Crime No 
			  Crimes Against Older People Yes, external consultants used to facilitate two focus groups and prepare reports based on the discussions. 
			  Prosecuting cases of Homophobic and Transphobic Hate Crime No 
			  Violence Against Women Strategy No 
			
			 2008 Prosecuting cases of Domestic Violence Yes, external consultants used to conduct a consultation workshop. 
			  Prosecuting cases of Rape No 
			  Supporting Victims and Witnesses with Mental Health issues Yes, external consultants used to facilitate two focus groups and prepare reports based on the discussions. (Same exercise for both publications.)(1) 
			  Supporting Victims and Witnesses with Learning Disabilities  
			
			 2009 Code for Crown Prosecutors (Note: this has been the subject of two separate consultations in 2009. The Director of Public Prosecutions considered that a number of issues had arisen that necessitated further consultation). No 
			  Public Prosecution Service: Setting the Standard No 
			  Assisted Suicide No 
			  Core Quality Standards No 
			 (1) Represents a brace. 
		
	
	It is not possible to provide the discrete costs of the consultation exercise for each publication without incurring disproportionate costs.
	The CPS has been able to identify which consultation exercises have involved the use of external consultants, although it has not been possible to provide the number of external consultants instructed without incurring disproportionate costs. Where external consultants have been involved only a single consultancy firm will have been contracted.
	It is likely that there will have been changes made to each of the publications set out in the table following the end of the respective consultations, as the views and responses received in each of the consultation exercises were the subject of careful consideration, and the CPS will have incorporated suggested changes where they improved the publication. However, the CPS has not been able to identify the discrete changes made to each publication following consultation, as to provide this information for each publication would involve checking stored paper records across the CPS and again incur disproportionate costs.
	It should also be noted that, as of 9 December 2009, the consultations on Assisted Suicide, Core Quality Standards, and the Code for Crown Prosecutors have not yet concluded, and no decisions have yet been made as to whether and how the publications should be revised in light of the responses received.

Crown Prosecution Service

Edward Garnier: To ask the Solicitor-General how many complaints of bullying, harassment or discrimination on grounds of  (a) sexual orientation,  (b) race,  (c) disability and  (d) gender were made against Crown Prosecution Service staff in (i) London and (ii) each of the 42 regional offices in each of the last five years; and how many such complaints are unresolved.

Vera Baird: Until 9 December 2009, there have been a total of 28 internal complaints relating to bullying, harassment or discrimination. Fourteen of these complaints are currently ongoing. None of these complaints relate to  (a) sexual orientation; nine relate to  (b) race; six relate to  (c) disability and two relate to  (d) gender. 11 of these complaints relate to bullying and harassment but were not categorised under the headings listed in  (a) to  (d). 12 internal complaints were raised in London-they included five race complaints, one disability complaint and six relating to bullying, harassment and discrimination. The remaining 16 complaints were raised in the CPS's areas outside London. A breakdown is provided in Table 1.
	In 2008, there were a total of 36 internal complaints made relating to bullying, harassment or discrimination. Seven of these complaints are currently ongoing. None of the complaints relate to  (a) sexual orientation; six relate to  (b) race; six to  (c) disability; and four relate to  (d) gender. The remaining 20 internal complaints relate to bullying and harassment but were not categorised under the headings  (a) to  (d). From the 36 internal complaints, 12 were raised in London (they included three race complaints and nine complaints relating to bullying, harassment and discrimination). The remaining 24 were raised in the CPS's areas outside London. A breakdown is provided at Table 2.
	Prior to 2008, the CPS only held central records on the number of complaints made under the generic heading of bullying, harassment or discrimination. In 2005 there were 36 complaints, 15 of which were raised in CPS London; in 2006 there were 28 complaints with 15 being raised in London; and in 2007, there were 26 complaints, three of which were raised in CPS London. The following tables provide a further breakdown of the areas.
	
		
			  Table 1: 2009 
			  Area  Bullying, harassment discrimination  (a) Sexual orientation  (b) Race  (c) Disability  (d) Gender 
			 London (1)6 - (2)5 (3)1 - 
			 HQ Casework Directorate - - - (3)1 - 
			 Cleveland 1 - - - - 
			 Durham - - - (3)1 - 
			 Essex - - - 1 - 
			 Humberside (3)1 - - - - 
			 Lancashire 1 - 1 - - 
			 Nottinghamshire - - (3)1 - - 
			 Surrey (3)1 - - - - 
			 Thames Valley - - (3)1 (3)1 2 
			 West Mercia 1 - - - - 
			 West Midlands - - - 1 - 
			 West Yorkshire - - 1 - - 
			 Total 11 0 9 6 2 
			 (1) Four ongoing (2) Two ongoing (3) Ongoing 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: 2008 
			  Area  Bullying, harassment, discrimination  (a) Sexual orientation  (b) Race  (c) Disability  (d) Gender 
			 London (1)9 - (2)3 - - 
			 Avon and Somerset - - - 1 - 
			 HQ Casework Directorate - - - 1 - 
			 Derby 1 - - - - 
			 Devon and Cornwall - - - 1 - 
			 Essex - - - 1 - 
			 Gwent - - - - 1 
			 HQ 2 - - 1 - 
			 Kent 1 - - - - 
			 Leicestershire - - - 1 - 
			 Nottinghamshire 2 - - - - 
			 Northumbria - - 1 - - 
			 South Yorkshire 1 - - - - 
			 Surrey - - - - 1 
			 Thames Valley 1 - - - - 
			 West Mercia 1 - - - - 
			 West Midlands 2 - - - 1 
			 West Yorkshire - - (2)2 - 1 
			 Total 20 0 6 6 4 
			 (1) Five ongoing (2) One ongoing 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: 2007 
			  Area  Bullying, harassment, discrimination 
			 London 3 
			 Avon and Somerset 1 
			 HQ Casework Directorate 2 
			 CPS Direct 1 
			 Cumbria 1 
			 Derby 1 
			 Devon and Cornwall 1 
			 Essex 1 
			 Hampshire and Isle of Wight 1 
			 HQ 1 
			 Humberside 1 
			 Lancashire 1 
			 Leicestershire 1 
			 Manchester 1 
			 Norfolk 1 
			 Suffolk 1 
			 Thames Valley 2 
			 West Midlands 3 
			 West Yorkshire 2 
			 Total 26 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 4: 2006 
			  Area  Bullying, harassment, discrimination 
			 London 15 
			 HQ Casework Directorate 2 
			 Durham 2 
			 Essex 1 
			 Hertfordshire 1 
			 Lancashire 1 
			 South Wales 1 
			 Surrey 1 
			 Thames Valley 1 
			 West Midlands 1 
			 West Yorkshire 1 
			 Wiltshire 1 
			 Total 28 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 5: 2005 
			  Area  Bullying, harassment, discrimination 
			 London 15 
			 Cumbria 1 
			 Derby 1 
			 Devon and Cornwall 1 
			 East Midlands 1 
			 Eastern 1 
			 Essex 1 
			 Gwent 1 
			 HQ 2 
			 Humberside 1 
			 Kent 1 
			 Manchester 2 
			 South East 1 
			 South Wales 1 
			 South Yorkshire 1 
			 Thames Valley 1 
			 West Midlands 4 
			 Total 36

Crown Prosecution Service

Edward Garnier: To ask the Solicitor-General how much was spent by Crown Prosecution Service staff in  (a) London and  (b) each of its 42 regional offices on (i) travel and (ii) subsistence in each of the last five years.

Vera Baird: The following tables show how much was spent by Crown Prosecution Service staff in London and each of its 42 offices on (i) travel and (ii) subsistence in each of the last four years. The figures for 2004-05 are no longer available as a result of a change in accounting system during that year.
	
		
			  Travel 
			  £ 
			   2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Avon and Somerset 80,414 92,187 92,234 116,518 
			 Bedfordshire 20,510 23,157 22,886 22,549 
			 Cambridgeshire 60,824 53,906 45,981 53,813 
			 Cheshire 73,325 62,901 71,833 85,647 
			 Cleveland 45,615 41,899 38,510 33,289 
			 Cumbria 88,644 79,033 87,394 82,845 
			 Derbyshire 50,311 49,800 47,765 42,848 
			 Devon and Cornwall 89,544 116,126 94,659 104,329 
			 Dorset 32,519 38,591 40,462 43,829 
			 Durham 54,281 53,471 47,426 50,369 
			 Dyfed Powys 68,122 73,198 66,589 80,802 
			 Essex 99,287 93,554 96,230 104,940 
			 Gloucestershire 38,401 30,785 36,613 39,722 
			 Greater Manchester 138,971 153,659 184,757 211,512 
			 Gwent 48,817 42,442 45,155 52,935 
			 Hampshire 93,650 98,894 92,338 95,567 
			 Hertfordshire 34,408 37,211 38,702 43,630 
			 Humberside 64,722 58,446 59,517 61,016 
			 Kent 74,676 84,495 88,522 115,270 
			 Lancashire 152,816 144,778 134,196 139,149 
			 Leicestershire 34,641 33,953 34,818 35,110 
			 Lincolnshire 54,688 63,412 64,090 50,606 
			 Merseyside 109,556 103,538 97,001 94,493 
			 Metropolitan and City 185,162 215,926 157,986 155,153 
			 Norfolk 71,164 62,063 58,023 55,124 
			 Northamptonshire 33,197 33,625 31,932 39,363 
			 Northumbria 111,988 81,207 66,151 70,815 
			 North Wales 94,038 83,142 93,363 95,135 
			 North Yorkshire 63,879 70,541 72,613 81,681 
			 Nottinghamshire 51,994 51,606 45,312 70,325 
			 South Wales 124,112 133,425 119,534 125,453 
			 South Yorkshire 61,233 59,720 62,586 90,697 
			 Staffordshire 105,831 81,433 81,871 82,467 
			 Suffolk 66,540 58,470 63,127 60,644 
			 Surrey 28,079 28,098 37,633 34,726 
			 Sussex 56,047 53,921 55,262 66,581 
			 Thames Valley 132,172 122,253 122,779 146,999 
			 Warwickshire 26,133 34,387 35,779 42,426 
			 West Mercia 104,313 104,240 121,212 108,683 
			 West Midlands 116,426 107,732 88,880 109,419 
			 West Yorkshire 144,963 124,295 130,596 132,654 
			 Wiltshire 63,126 62,339 75,437 75,378 
			 CPS Direct 91,665 107,043 132,151 138,911 
			 Organised Crime Division 13 196,557 184,450 190,913 
			 Special Crime Division - 133,264 71,860 78,125 
			 Counter-terrorism Division - 29,041 53,430 41,970 
			 Headquarters 1,624,171 1,387,312 1,568,736 1,759,717 
			 Business Centres 152,697 173,519 234,452 257,345 
			 Total 5,117,685 5,224,597 5,392,831 5,871,491 
		
	
	
		
			  Subsistence 
			  £ 
			   2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Avon and Somerset 17,534 17,827 16,799 23,161 
			 Bedfordshire 8,831 7,797 6,543 5,207 
			 Cambridgeshire 17,379 16,262 12,141 9,318 
			 Cheshire 7,409 8,416 4,561 24,773 
			 Cleveland 10,428 12,649 7,837 8,275 
			 Cumbria 21,039 13,792 10,776 11,461 
			 Derbyshire 8,213 12,831 7,514 7,248 
			 Devon and Cornwall 28,068 55,794 36,208 24,860 
			 Dorset 12,569 15,135 12,374 12,311 
			 Durham 5,600 6,238 9,724 3,298 
			 Dyfed Powys 14,760 15,039 12,165 16,755 
			 Essex 20,442 24,684 19,989 26,381 
			 Gloucestershire 9,964 6,255 5,227 5,811 
			 Greater Manchester 39,879 44,281 48,784 48,398 
			 Gwent 11,976 6,727 10,996 7,254 
			 Hampshire 20,801 34,070 16,488 15,376 
			 Hertfordshire 12,511 22,912 16,242 4,356 
			 Humberside 13,215 13,927 13,065 10,960 
			 Kent 12,954 18,429 17,509 28,536 
			 Lancashire 17,955 13,707 15,629 18,176 
			 Leicestershire 10,952 10,780 4,851 5,662 
			 Lincolnshire 12,230 13,538 6,636 3,697 
			 Merseyside 22,824 17,278 23,107 15,804 
			 Metropolitan and City 51,133 80,549 39,165 35,873 
			 Norfolk 14,938 8,258 7,308 8,398 
			 Northamptonshire 5,499 8,741 7,742 6,540 
			 Northumbria 18,539 23,394 18,265 20,626 
			 North Wales 18,655 16,607 8,571 9,452 
			 North Yorkshire 5,621 6,480 4,603 5,146 
			 Nottinghamshire 8,193 5,973 7,287 9,563 
			 South Wales 30,800 26,625 18,565 23,106 
			 South Yorkshire 11,496 15,791 14,711 16,366 
			 Staffordshire 10,470 8,351 9,089 6,088 
			 Suffolk 11,302 12,165 10,815 6,974 
			 Surrey 4,146 3,276 4,486 8,313 
			 Sussex 12,050 14,430 15,137 12,308 
			 Thames Valley 31,704 23,557 13,384 18,464 
			 Warwickshire 2,356 8,220 3,442 3,548 
			 West Mercia 24,835 35,732 24,549 20,672 
			 West Midlands 23,579 20,775 14,296 16,362 
			 West Yorkshire 27,130 36,646 25,108 19,533 
			 Wiltshire 14,896 16,969 13,521 11,092 
			 CPS Direct 39,159 56,039 38,087 52,236 
			 Organised Crime Division 14 175,468 195,696 194,636 
			 Special Crime Division - 43,732 22,644 39,708 
			 Counter-terrorism Division - 22,098 32,164 49,623 
			 Headquarters 767,901 677,041 632,617 553,362 
			 Business Centres 67,752 106,440 102,207 110,252 
			 Total 1,559,701 1,861,726 1,618,624 1,595,318

Crown Prosecution Service

Edward Garnier: To ask the Solicitor-General how many days of sick leave were taken by Crown Prosecution Service employees  (a) on average and  (b) in total in (i) London and (ii) each of the 42 regional offices in each of the last five years; and what estimate she has made of the average cost per head to her Department of such leave (A) in total and (B) at each location in each such year.

Vera Baird: The average number of days sick absence taken by Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) staff in 2008-09 was 8.5 days per staff year. A total of 69,841.5 working days were recorded as sickness absence at an estimated salary cost of £1,045 per head. The following table shows the absence rates, total absence days and estimated salary cost per head for each CPS area for the previous five year period to March 2009.
	
		
			  Average number of sick days for CPS areas 
			   April to March 
			  CPS  2008-09  2007-08  2006 - 07  2005 - 06  2004 - 05 
			 Avon and Somerset 7.5 7.4 6.7 6.8 9.2 
			 Bedfordshire 3.5 3.5 5.5 6.7 6.4 
			 Cambridgeshire 9.5 6.3 7.3 7.2 8.3 
			 Cheshire 8.4 8.5 5.8 7 9.2 
			 Cleveland 10.1 9.0 10.2 10.9 7.1 
			 CPS Direct 7.0 5.0 5.2 5.8 5.2 
			 Cumbria 7.1 17.6 19.7 10.8 10.2 
			 Derbyshire 13.6 10.5 11.9 13.1 13.9 
			 Devon and Cornwall 13.6 14.3 11.9 11.9 9.9 
			 Dorset 7.7 13.5 8.4 7.8 12.5 
			 Durham 10.1 8.2 9.2 7.1 11.8 
			 Dyfed-Powys 3.7 11.7 12.2 7.8 6.7 
			 Essex 10.4 13.6 14.4 13 10.2 
			 Gloucestershire 4.3 6.7 8.3 12.1 9.3 
			 Greater Manchester 8.5 8.0 8.6 6.9 8 
			 Gwent 5.9 6.3 9.1 6.2 6 
			 Hampshire 7.0 8.2 8.4 7.4 8.1 
			 Hertfordshire 8.7 7.9 6.2 6.2 5.5 
			 Humberside 6.6 6.1 4.4 8 10 
			 Kent 12.7 9.5 8.2 7.1 6.9 
			 Lancashire 8.3 10.5 9.7 8.5 7 
			 Leicestershire 10.2 11.1 9.5 8.8 8.2 
			 Lincolnshire 8.8 16.0 9.4 8.7 14.2 
			 London 9.5 10.8 9.5 10.6 9.6 
			 Merseyside 10.9 12.7 11.1 10.9 10.1 
			 Norfolk 5.7 8.6 4.8 7.4 11.4 
			 North Wales 4.8 8.5 9 6.3 3 
			 North Yorkshire 5.3 9.1 7.5 5.4 4.7 
			 Northamptonshire 6.0 4.7 5.9 7.7 7 
			 Northumbria 11.5 10.1 8.3 10.5 8.3 
			 Nottinghamshire 9.3 6.8 7.5 11.5 13.2 
			 South Wales 5.3 11.7 8.9 9.1 11 
			 South Yorkshire 9.4 10.3 8.9 6.8 7.8 
			 Staffordshire 6.5 13.0 7.6 7.2 9 
			 Suffolk 9.0 7.3 9.6 7.7 5.3 
			 Surrey 5.4 9.8 13.8 12.7 6.6 
			 Sussex 8.6 8.1 6.6 7 9.6 
			 Thames Valley 4.9 8.4 6.3 6.5 5.4 
			 Warwickshire 4.5 2.5 5.2 4.4 6 
			 West Mercia 11.0 11.4 12.3 8.8 11.6 
			 West Midlands 8.8 8.6 9.7 8.3 7 
			 West Yorkshire 8.5 6.6 8.9 8.8 11.8 
			 Wiltshire 10.9 10.1 7.8 6.8 5.5 
			 Total CPS 8.5 9.4 8.7 8.6 8.7 
		
	
	
		
			  Total number of sick absence days per CPS area 
			   April to March 
			  CPS  2008-09  2007-08  2006-07  2005-06  2004-05 
			 Casework 1,636.5 1,934 1,666 2,154 2,069 
			 HQ 4,254.5 5,294.5 4,244.5 4,606 4,705.5 
			 Avon and Somerset 1,252.5 1,265.0 1,404 1,537.5 1,878.5 
			 Bedfordshire 261.0 232.5 385.5 537.5 549.5 
			 Cambridgeshire 656.5 440.5 556 522.5 625 
			 Cheshire 894.0 864.5 696 915 1,135 
			 Cleveland 994.0 968.5 1,103.5 1,333 1,062 
			 CPS Direct 1,075.5 767.5 700 813.5 541.5 
			 Cumbria 483.0 1,234.5 1,582 942.5 867 
			 Derbyshire 1,512.5 1,206.0 1,419 1,740.5 2,046 
			 Devon and Cornwall 1,615.0 1,703.5 1,618 1,817 1,390.5 
			 Dorset 542.0 901.5 582 555 831 
			 Durham 846.5 649.0 767 669 1,057.5 
			 Dyfed-Powys 227.5 745.5 822 611 646 
			 Essex 1,790.5 2,213.5 2,077 2,186.5 2,245 
			 Gloucestershire 232.0 360.5 463 620.5 766 
			 Greater Manchester 3,885.0 3,771.0 4,641.5 3,732.5 4,216 
			 Gwent 485.0 597.5 860.5 561.5 553.5 
			 Hampshire 1,595.5 1,889.0 2,184 1,942 2,419.5 
			 Hertfordshire 977.5 917.5 779.5 855.5 691 
			 Humberside 711.5 668.5 600 1,025 1,108 
			 Kent 2,262.5 1,611.5 1,593.5 1,305.5 1,218 
			 Lancashire 1,982.5 2,470.0 2,632.5 2,390 2,165 
			 Leicestershire 1,182.5 1,366.5 1,332 1,274.5 1,226 
			 Lincolnshire 655.0 1,188.5 798.5 841 926.5 
			 London 12,440.0 14,590.5 14,415.5 15,005 1,5493.5 
			 Merseyside 2,712.0 3,440.0 3,286 3,803.5 3,626 
			 Norfolk 523.5 822.0 513.5 808 1,135.5 
			 North Wales 366.0 653.5 728 596.5 328 
			 North Yorkshire 417.0 699.5 713 548 635 
			 Northamptonshire 455.0 349.0 511 733 650 
			 Northumbria 2,922.0 2,513.5 2,251 2,992.5 2,384.5 
			 Nottinghamshire 1,564.0 1,071.5 1,465 2,273 2,453 
			 South Wales 1,242.0 2,638.5 2,413.5 2,601.5 2,736.5 
			 South Yorkshire 1,667.0 1,805.0 1,881 1,448 1,939 
			 Staffordshire 933.5 1,870.0 1,076.5 1,033 1,238.5 
			 Suffolk 590.5 497.0 760 623 445 
			 Surrey 408.5 711.5 1,167.5 1,000 462 
			 Sussex 1,285.0 1,191.0 1,031 1,173 1,664 
			 Thames Valley 1,064.5 1,773.5 1,597 1,857.5 1,543.5 
			 Warwickshire 164.0 92.0 239.5 209.5 382 
			 West Mercia 1,522.0 1,575.0 2,051.5 1,633.5 1,764 
			 West Midlands 4,360.5 4,335.5 5,459.5 4,875 4,856 
			 West Yorkshire 2,520.5 2,031.5 2,978 2,797.5 4,128 
			 Wiltshire 673.5 624.0 500 370.5 381.5 
			 Total CPS 69,841.5 78,545.0 80,545.5 81,870 85,184 
		
	
	
		
			  Estimated cost per head of sickness absence 
			   April to March 
			  CPS  2008-09  2007-08  2006-07  2005-06  2004-05 
			 Casework 611.39 1,127.44 1,042.28 1,359.85 1,259.84 
			 HQ 865.21 1,124.65 866.64 737.20 757.56 
			 Avon and Somerset 915.29 852.07 958.65 1,050.20 1,383.57 
			 Bedfordshire 475.52 444.49 777.12 1,017.99 1,126.48 
			 Cambridgeshire 1,164.19 763.53 980.72 974.81 1,114.13 
			 Cheshire 1,061.63 1,012.48 849.92 1,021.21 1,269.14 
			 Cleveland 1,283.51 1,076.11 1,187.67 1,501.13 1,209.50 
			 CPS Direct 877.56 615.90 753.39 1,048.32 - 
			 Cumbria 773.96 1,933.55 2,480.42 1,510.42 1,460.84 
			 Derbyshire 1,676.35 1,264.35 1,553.56 2,014.47 2,374.13 
			 Devon and Cornwall 1,678.09 1,743.74 1,489.03 1,720.64 1,425.26 
			 Dorset 936.18 1,698.48 1,137.14 1,196.12 1,858.42 
			 Durham 1,160.66 1,054.63 1,202.58 1,086.04 1,646.49 
			 Dyfed-Powys 496.02 1,468.41 1,581.73 1,106.88 1,324.30 
			 Essex 1,233.87 1,634.97 1,680.12 1,740.84 1,853.26 
			 Gloucestershire 551.00 794.32 1,088.91 1,385.04 1,777.70 
			 Greater Manchester 1,092.40 955.61 1,162.66 984.31 1,147.27 
			 Gwent 777.17 817.63 1,332.73 845.63 861.78 
			 Hampshire 859.12 951.82 1,150.90 1,055.43 1,423.92 
			 Hertfordshire 1,111.18 993.96 868.39 954.80 876.22 
			 Humberside 788.58 695.24 629.75 1,164.77 1,376.61 
			 Kent 1,662.50 1,151.07 1,169.79 1,013.59 913.50 
			 Lancashire 1,010.24 1,284.40 1,337.31 1,219.39 1,095.86 
			 Leicestershire 1,278.64 1,335.68 1,342.57 1,350.11 1,216.11 
			 Lincolnshire 1,226.97 1,931.31 1,267.62 1,401.67 1,700.89 
			 London 1,208.56 1,291.19 1,327.61 1,429.59 1,464.80 
			 Merseyside 1,408.97 1,490.67 1,350.56 1,617.13 1,587.18 
			 Norfolk 756.80 1,008.11 658.73 1,086.02 1,501.79 
			 North Wales 586.48 987.85 1,127.51 994.17 560.33 
			 North Yorkshire 637.48 1,057.38 1,131.89 878.21 1,055.47 
			 Northamptonshire 775.83 596.97 927.10 1,238.18 1,110.42 
			 Northumbria 1,418.34 1,214.70 1,082.87 1,455.50 1,177.89 
			 Nottinghamshire 1,155.62 809.85 1,134.48 1,681.21 1,851.04 
			 South Wales 679.78 1,411.54 1,245.99 1,458.24 1,602.81 
			 South Yorkshire 1,131.18 1,248.14 1,257.30 957.67 1,317.66 
			 Staffordshire 850.38 1,548.41 976.54 935.69 1,128.41 
			 Suffolk 1,121.95 850.13 1,253.51 1,011.36 760.21 
			 Surrey 639.18 1,101.13 2,003.68 1,811.59 848.15 
			 Sussex 999.44 967.69 872.91 1,086.11 1,538.89 
			 Thames Valley 570.88 981.09 870.47 1,100.41 1,004.50 
			 Warwickshire 507.26 284.76 741.87 689.14 1,204.77 
			 West Mercia 1,340.57 1,383.45 1,901.76 1,646.67 1,903.26 
			 West Midlands 1,132.71 1,041.80 1,262.94 1,197.20 1,214.00 
			 West Yorkshire 1,015.84 772.21 1,153.07 1,106.61 1,703.84 
			 Wiltshire 1,444.77 1,210.75 1,058.33 908.09 868.97 
			 Total CPS 1,045.46 1,141.13 1,188.07 1,219.76 1,310.03

Crown Prosecution Service

Edward Garnier: To ask the Solicitor-General how many and what proportion of staff employed by the Crown Prosecution Service in  (a) London and  (b) each of its 42 regional offices are from black and minority ethnic groups; and whether a comparative estimate has been made of the proportion of the population comprised of people from black and minority ethnic groups in each such area.

Vera Baird: The current representation of black and minority ethnic (BME) staff in the CPS is 15 per cent. This compares with a national figure of 12.4 per cent. of the working age population being of BME origin. The CPS employs 41 per cent. BME staff in London, its highest representation of BME staff, compared with 35.8 per cent. of BME people of working age in London. In other CPS areas, the representation of BME staff range from 1 per cent. in Cumbria and North Yorkshire to 23 per cent. in West Midlands compared with a BME working population of 0.4 per cent. and 26.9 per cent. respectively. The following table provides a detailed breakdown of the data.
	
		
			  Black and minority ethni c staff 
			   CPS areas  Community-working age 
			   Number  Percentage  Total  Number  Percentage  Total 
			 CPS London 567 41 1,369 1,851,500 35.8 5,177,300 
			 CPS Avon and Somerset 9 5 182 38,100 4.7 816,500 
			 CPS Bedfordshire 16 22 73 80,300 21.4 375,200 
			 CPS Cambridgeshire 9 12 75 25,100 6.7 376,400 
			 CPS Cheshire 5 4 112 12,300 2.0 614,000 
			 CPS Cleveland 3 3 103 13,700 4.0 344,900 
			 CPS Cumbria 1 1 83 1,200 0.4 295,400 
			 CPS Derbyshire 13 11 120 34,700 5.7 608,700 
			 CPS Devon and Cornwall 6 5 128 10,600 1.3 817,500 
			 CPS Dorset 9 12 77 16,100 2.9 553,700 
			 CPS Durham 4 4 97 5,500 1.5 372,900 
			 CPS Dyfed Powys - 0 61 2,300 0.8 293,500 
			 CPS Essex 14 7 193 59,200 5.8 1,021,100 
			 CPS Gloucestershire 5 9 56 32,400 5.2 629,100 
			 CPS Greater Manchester 41 9 473 202,300 13.9 1,455,200 
			 CPS Gwent 4 5 83 7,800 2.3 336,000 
			 CPS Hampshire 11 4 247 63,900 5.0 1,284,800 
			 CPS Hertfordshire 19 16 117 56,900 8.7 657,300 
			 CPS Humberside 4 3 120 10,800 6.5 166,500 
			 CPS Kent 13 7 181 39,300 4.7 833,200 
			 CPS Lancashire 12 5 261 93,700 9.0 1,042,200 
			 CPS Leicestershire 27 22 123 111,400 18.9 589,800 
			 CPS Lincolnshire 4 6 71 14,600 2.4 599,900 
			 CPS Merseyside 6 2 256 35,600 4.3 822,800 
			 CPS Norfolk 6 7 92 12,100 2.5 492,400 
			 CPS North Wales 3 4 83 2,900 0.7 399,500 
			 CPS North Yorkshire 1 1 87 12,600 1.9 675,700 
			 CPS Northamptonshire 16 21 78 46,000 8.7 530,800 
			 CPS Northumbria 9 3 274 39,800 4.6 869,500 
			 CPS Nottinghamshire 13 7 180 64,500 9.3 695,700 
			 CPS South Wales 13 5 243 36,900 4.8 762,300 
			 CPS South Yorkshire 10 5 196 64,400 9.6 669,900 
			 CPS Staffordshire 7 5 146 34,600 5.3 651,700 
			 CPS Suffolk 3 4 70 14,300 3.4 418,000 
			 CPS Surrey 13 15 85 67,900 8.8 769,600 
			 CPS Sussex 10 6 171 45,000 5.0 895,500 
			 CPS Thames Valley 36 15 248 157,800 13.1 1,203,700 
			 CPS Warwickshire 7 16 43 23,700 7.3 322,700 
			 CPS West Mercia 5 3 151 23,100 3.3 707,200 
			 CPS West Midlands 117 23 512 429,200 26.9 1,593,100 
			 CPS West Yorkshire 32 10 330 203,800 13.4 1,520,800 
			 CPS Wiltshire 2 3 62 5,900 2.2 264,000 
			 Business Centres total(1) 14 10 147 (1)- (1)- (1)- 
			 Casework total(1) 71 20 356 (1)- (1)- (1)- 
			 Head Quarters total(1) 92 18 507 (1)- (1)- (1)- 
			 CPS Direct 18 11 163 (1)- (1)- (1)- 
			 Total 1,300 15 8,885 4,151,700 12.4 33,526,000 
			 (1) Staff in these divisions work in multiple locations across the country including home working.  Notes: 1. Data taken from quarterly Intranet Stats published to CPS Infonet. 2. Data may be subject to change due to retrospective changes in the HR database. 3. Data exclude career break staff. 4. Communities data taken from ONS NOMIS database (Labour Force Statistics).  Source: HR database Trent as at 1 October 2009.

Departmental Electronic Equipment

Greg Hands: To ask the Solicitor-General how many plasma screen televisions the Law Officers' Departments have purchased since 2001; and what the cost has been of purchasing and installing such screens in each such year.

Vera Baird: The Attorney-Generals' Office have purchased two plasma screen televisions at a total cost of £3,549.20 since 2001.
	In 2007 the Serious Fraud Office purchased four plasma screen televisions for its Elm House headquarters. The total cost was £9,239.70 (Plus VAT). The total cost for installation cabling and mounting of the plasma screens are estimated to be around £6,639.36 (plus VAT).
	Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office has purchased one plasma screen television since 2001 at a cost of £1,755, which includes purchase and installation.
	The Treasury Solicitor's Department has purchased the following plasma television screens since 2001, of them, five are for use in In-House Training and not for receiving television signals.
	
		
			  Plasma Televisions 
			   Number  Cost (£) 
			 2005 2 (1)3,198 
			 2006 2 (1)1,798 
			 2007 2 (1)3,302 
			 (1 )Plus VAT 
		
	
	The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has purchased nine plasma screen televisions during the period in question at a total cost of £15,738.02 including installation CPS central records only hold items that cost over the capitalisation threshold of £500 and it is possible that plasma television screen(s) have been purchased by CPS Area(s) at a lower cost. To obtain this information would require local managers to review all paper procurement records and would incur disproportionate cost.

Departmental Internet

David Davies: To ask the Solicitor-General 
	(1)  what redesigns of websites operated by  (a) the Law Officers' Departments and  (b) its agency have taken place since 27 June 2007; and what the (i) cost to the public purse and (ii) date of completion of each such redesign was;
	(2)  what redesigns of websites operated by the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office have been carried out since 27 June 2007; and what the  (a) cost to the public purse and  (b) date of completion of each such redesign was;
	(3)  what redesigns of websites operated by the Crown Prosecution Service have taken place since 27 June 2007; and what the  (a) cost to the public purse and  (b) date of completion of each such redesign was;
	(4)  what redesigns of websites operated by the Serious Fraud Office have taken place since 27 June 2007; and what the  (a) cost to the public purse and  (b) date of completion of each such redesign was.

Vera Baird: The information requested for each Law Officers' Department is outlined.
	There has only been one redesign of the sole website operated by Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office since it was established on 18 April 2005.
	The total cost for the strategy and planning, design and build, hosting and infrastructure, content provision, testing and evaluation and staff costs for the site was £58,741.20. The redevelopment of the site was completed on 12 December 2008.
	The Treasury Solicitor's Department Operates Websites for Bona Vacantia, the Treasury Solicitor's Dept and the Government Legal Service. Since 27 June 2007 the only website redesign has been for Bona Vacantia. The cost of the redesign was £42,598.75 with the redesign being completed and the website available for use on 41 February 2009.
	The Crown Prosecution Service has redesigned its website once since 27 June 2007. The total cost of the redesign was £60,085 and the work was completed on 31 March 2009.
	The Attorney-General's Office built new websites for both itself and the National Fraud Authority earlier this year, the combined cost of both sites was £59,184.
	The Serious Fraud Office has redesigned its website on one occasion since 2007. The work began in February 2009 and the completed website was launched on 2 October 2009. The final cost was £113,309.
	HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate has redesigned its whole website once since 27 June 2007. (i) There was no additional cost to the public purse as work was completed internally and was part of work stream anticipated for the publication team, (ii) The new website design was launched in March 2009.

Departmental Training

John Baron: To ask the Solicitor-General how many overseas training courses were attended by civil servants in the Law Officers' Departments in the latest period for which figures are available; how many civil servants attended each course; and what the total cost to the public purse was of each course.

Vera Baird: During the last full financial year, 2008-09, three overseas training courses were attended by staff from Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office. A single member of staff attended each course, and the overall cost to the Department was £548.
	The Crown Prosecution Service is a devolved organisation. Although expenditure data on overseas travel are available the Department does not keep central records of the reason for travel or how many overseas training courses have been attended by CPS staff nor the associated costs, and therefore the information requested could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
	No staff from the remaining Law Officers' Departments have attended any overseas training courses during the latest period for which figures are available.

Terrorism

Edward Garnier: To ask the Solicitor-General what the  (a) longest,  (b) shortest and  (c) average time taken from charge to final disposal was in each case prosecuted under terrorism legislation in respect of which legal proceedings have been completed in each of the last five years.

Vera Baird: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not capture management information about the time taken from charge to disposal in cases prosecuted under terrorism, or any other legislation. The information requested could be obtained only by the individual analysis of case files, which would incur disproportionate cost.

Terrorism

Edward Garnier: To ask the Solicitor-General what the outcome was of each case in respect of which legal proceedings have been completed which was prosecuted under terrorism legislation in each of the last five years.

Vera Baird: The data requested can be found in the Home Office Statistical Bulletin 2009-09: Operation of police powers under the Terrorism Act 2000 and Subsequent Legislation-arrest, outcomes and stops and searches Great Britain 2008-09, published on 26 November 2009. This is available on the Home Office website at
	http://rds.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/whatsnew1.html
	This bulletin brings together information on terrorism arrests, outcomes, and stop and searches previously published in separate statistical bulletins.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Affordable Housing: Construction

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many affordable homes have been built in  (a) Ashford constituency and  (b) Kent in each of the last 12 months.

Ian Austin: Information on new affordable homes is not available by constituency.
	In 2008-09, 250 affordable homes were built in Ashford local authority and 1,940 in Kent.
	These figures are from the Homes and Communities Agency Investment Management System (IMS), and local authority returns to CLG.
	Figures are only available on a monthly basis from the IMS data, they are not available monthly from local authority returns. The monthly IMS figures are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  New Build affordable homes provided with funding by the HCA 
			   Ashford LA  Kent 
			  2008   
			 April 0 30 
			 May 0 0 
			 June 0 40 
			 July 0 10 
			 August 30 110 
			 September 20 100 
			 October 50 170 
			 November 10 60 
			 December 40 120 
			
			  2009   
			 January 20 160 
			 February 10 420 
			 March 90 670 
			 Total with HCA funding 250 1,890 
			  Note: The figures have been rounded to the nearest 10, so the totals may not sum due to rounding. 
		
	
	Total affordable housing supply includes social rent, intermediate rent and low cost home ownership. Not all affordable housing is provided by new build completions, as some supply can come from acquisitions; in 2008-09, a total of 260 additional affordable homes were provided in Ashford, and 2,370 were provided in England (new build and acquisitions).

Affordable Housing: Rural Areas

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes were available in rural areas through the  (a) HomeBuy Direct,  (b) New Build HomeBuy,  (c) First Time Buyers Initiative,  (d) Open Market HomeBuy and  (e) Social HomeBuy schemes on the latest date for which figures are available.

John Healey: For  (a), 259 homes were available in rural areas with less than 10,000 inhabitants under HomeBuy Direct in 2009-10, as at end September 2009:
	For  (b), 408 homes were completed in rural areas with less than 10,000 inhabitants under New Build HomeBuy in 2009-10, as at end September 2009:
	For  (c),  (d) and  (e) First Time Buyers Initiative, Open Market HomeBuy and Social HomeBuy; we do not hold data centrally on the number of homes available in rural areas.
	 Data source
	Homes and Communities Agency

Affordable Housing: Rural Areas

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes in rural areas were built on exception sites in each year since 1989.

Ian Austin: The number of affordable homes provided on rural exception sites was 1,219 in 2008-09. This estimate is as reported by local authorities in the Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix. Figures are not available for earlier years.

Affordable Housing: Rural Areas

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes in rural areas were  (a) available and  (b) purchased through the (i) HomeBuy Direct, (ii) New Build HomeBuy, (iii) First-Time Buyer's Initiative, (iv) Open Market HomeBuy and (v) Social HomeBuy scheme in each of the last three years.

John Healey: For (i), HomeBuy Direct only became operational in February 2009.
	For (ii), the number of New Build HomeBuy homes available and purchased in rural areas with less than 10,000 inhabitants in the last three years is as follows (separate information on homes available and purchased is not held centrally):
	2008-09: 1,114
	2007-08: 829
	2006-07: 200
	For (iii), the First Time Buyer's Initiative; the availability of homes and purchases in rural areas is not recorded separately.
	For (iv), Open Market HomeBuy homes are purchased on the open market, so no data are held on properties available. The number of purchases in rural areas with less than 10,000 inhabitants in the last three years is as follows:
	2008-09: Information not held centrally following changes to data collection.
	2007-08: Five.
	2006-07: Three.
	For (v), Social HomeBuy, we do not hold data centrally on homes available from landlords participating in the scheme.
	 Data source
	Homes and Communities Agency

Community Assets Programme

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many community asset transfers have taken place since the publication of the Quirk review.

Barbara Follett: In relation to the implementation of the Quirk Review, the Advancing Assets for Communities demonstration programme supported 50 local authority and community partnerships between 2007 and 2009 and over one-third of the 80 pilot projects supported are expected to complete successful transfer before 31 March 2010. The programme is supporting 22 partnerships in 2009-10 and will continue until 2011. Nationally there are no data for exactly how many community asset transfers have taken place but a recent survey by SQW consultants found that from a sample of 119 local authorities, 350 asset transfer projects are currently under way.

Community Infrastructure Levy

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the yearly revenue to be generated by the Community Infrastructure Levy once operational; and whether such revenue will be classified as tax revenue for the purposes of the national accounting rules.

Ian Austin: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 28 October 2009,  Official Report, columns 456-57W.

Community Relations: Elderly

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department is taking to reduce social isolation amongst elderly people.

Ian Austin: Communities and Local Government has various programmes and policies which contribute towards reducing social isolation among older people.
	The Supporting People (SP) programme provides housing-related support which can help older people to maintain health and well-being, and take part in their communities. Between 1 April 2008 and 31 March 2009, SP outcomes data show 9,212 older people receiving long-term housing-related support services were supported to establish contact with external services, family or friends, and 6,757 were supported to participate in leisure, cultural, faith or learning activities.
	Our work to create more cohesive, active and empowered communities includes strengthening third sector and voluntary organisations that will provide important support to local groups who are in a position to work actively in local communities. We are supporting a £5.5 million cross-Government scheme to promote intergenerational volunteering and encourage meaningful interaction between young and old generations.
	Communities and Local Government encourages the adoption of Lifetime Neighbourhoods principles, and will shortly commission a report to provide advice to local authorities in making a reality of Lifetime Neighbourhoods.
	Digital technology can also be extremely valuable in helping people to stay in regular contact with their families and friends. Communities and Local Government is working with the Department for Work and Pensions and other partners to deliver a commitment to run digital inclusion projects targeted at giving people in sheltered housing access to new technology.

Council Housing

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps) of 22 June 2009,  Official Report, column 642W, on council housing, if he will place in the Library a copy of the research reports on  (a) rent analysis and  (b) debt analysis.

Ian Austin: The documents have been placed in the Library. They have been available on the Communities and Local Government website since 21 July.

Council Housing: Rents

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities with council housing have not applied for financial support for reduced rent increases for council tenants.

Ian Austin: Harlow and North Kesteven district councils have not taken up the Government's offer of compensation to enable them to reduce their rent increases in 2009-10 to an average of 3.1 per cent.

Council Tax: Empty Property

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer of 16 October 2008,  Official Report, column 1109W, on council housing: finance, whether local authorities which reduced their council tax discount on empty homes will be permitted to retain the additional revenue raised under the recalculation of the council tax base for the 2011-12 settlement.

Barbara Follett: All council tax revenue is retained by local authorities.
	For the purposes of formula grant distribution, the council tax base for each authority is the number of Band D equivalent properties in their authority. The number of dwellings in each band is calculated by taking the number of dwellings on the valuation list and adjusting for various exemptions and discounts. This includes the number of dwellings that receive a discount because they are classed as long-term empty dwellings.

Departmental Conferences

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which conferences held overseas have been attended by civil servants based in his Department in the last three years; and what the cost to the public purse was of such attendance at each conference.

Barbara Follett: Records on overseas visits held in Communities and Local Government (CLG) do not identify separately the number made to attend foreign conferences or information on/or cost of what conferences were attended. This information can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	All ministerial travel and travel by CLG staff is undertaken in accordance with the 'Civil Service Management Code' and the 'Ministerial Code'.

Departmental Internet

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what redesigns of websites operated by  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies there have been since 27 June 2007; and what the (i) cost to the public purse and (ii) date of completion of each such redesign was.

Barbara Follett: For information relating to the redesign of the Department's corporate website in August 2007, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Member for Gloucester (Mr. Dhanda) on 20 May 2008,  Official Report, column 264W.
	The Department does not hold information on the website redesign of its agencies' sites centrally and so this information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Manpower

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many staff of his Department were in its redeployment pool on 1  (a) January,  (b) April,  (c) July and  (d) October 2009.

Barbara Follett: The number of staff in the Communities and Local Government redeployment pool-known as the Career Transition Centre (CTC)-were as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 1 January 2009 36 
			 1 April 2009 57 
			 1 July 2009 53 
			 1 October 2009 52 
		
	
	As of 1 December 2009 the number of staff in the CTC had fallen to 33. Staff in the CTC undertake meaningful temporary roles while awaiting a permanent post, to widen their experience and alleviate pressure points in the business.

Departmental Publicity

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department has spent on  (a) ministerial photoshoots and  (b) production of videos in which Ministers appear in the last three years for which figures are available.

Barbara Follett: The communication directorate of the Department for Communities and Local Government has commissioned:
	
		
			  £ 
			   Photography  Video 
			 2006-07 470 0 
			 2007-08 794 0 
			 2008-09 445 3,658

Empty Dwelling Management Orders

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how he evaluates the effectiveness of empty dwelling management orders.

Ian Austin: The Department is making a continuous assessment of the success of EDMOs through its regular contact with local authorities and the Empty Homes Agency.

Empty Property

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many long-term empty private homes there were in each Government office region in each year since 2003.

Ian Austin: Information on the number of privately-owned homes that are long-term vacant is not held centrally.

Empty Property: Leeds

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how many long-term empty properties there were in Leeds in each year since 1990;
	(2)  how many long-term empty properties there were in Leeds, West constituency in each year since 1990.

Barbara Follett: The number of long-term empty domestic dwellings in Leeds since 2004 are shown in the following table. Data prior to 2004 are not available and data are not available at constituency level.
	
		
			   Long-term empty dwellings 
			 1 November 2004 6,445 
			 10 October 2005 4,542 
			 9 October 2006 4,070 
			 8 October 2007 4,525 
			 6 October 2008 4,712 
			 5 October 2009 4,724 
		
	
	The data are taken from the Council Tax Base (CTB) form completed annually in the autumn by all billing authorities in England and returned to Communities and Local Government.
	Details of the number of empty non-domestic hereditaments are not currently available.

Equality Bill 2008-09 then 2009-10

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Peterborough (Mr. Jackson) of 13 May 2009, Official Report, column 838W, on the Equality Bill, whether local authorities will be compensated under the new burdens principle for the costs to them of implementing the provisions of the Equality Bill.

Barbara Follett: The Government are committed to ensuring that all new burdens falling on local authorities are fully and properly funded so that there is no upward pressure on council tax bills. Where appropriate, funding is provided through the formula grant system or through specific grants.

Fire Services

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his most recent estimate is of the date upon which each regional fire control room will become operational.

Shahid Malik: Under current planning assumptions the first regional fire control rooms are expected to become operational in spring 2011 and the last fire and rescue service will switch over by the end of 2012:
	
		
			  Regional control centre  Go live date 
			 South West May 2011 
			 East Midlands May 2011 
			 North East May 2011 
			 West Midlands May 2011 
			 North West January 2012 
			 South East March 2012 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside July 2012 
			 East of England September 2011 
			 London September 2011

Fire Services

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he plans to publish updated national and regional business plans for the FiReControl project.

Shahid Malik: At present we have no plans to publish an updated FiReControl Business Case.

Fire Services

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations his Department has received on the FiReControl project from  (a) fire and rescue and  (b) local authorities in the last 12 months.

Shahid Malik: FiReControl is being delivered in close partnership with local government. Over the last 12 months, representations have been received on a regular and ongoing basis.

Fire Services

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on what date he expects the regional fire control centre in  (a) the South West,  (b) the South East,  (c) the East of England,  (d) the East Midlands,  (e) the West Midlands,  (f) Yorkshire and the Humber,  (g) the North West and  (h) the North East to become operational.

Shahid Malik: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Peterborough (Mr. Jackson) today (UIN 303477).

Fire Services: Contracts

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which contractors have been awarded contracts worth over £1 million under the FiReControl regional fire control room project to date.

Shahid Malik: The following have been awarded contracts worth over £1 million under the FiReControl project:
	 Contractors
	Actica
	Atkins
	Canada Life Ltd.
	CB Richard Ellis
	Chief Fire Officers' Association
	Cornwell
	Denton, Wilde and Sapte
	EADS
	Leafrange Ltd.
	PA Consulting
	Turner and Townsend
	VT Group
	 Developers
	Broadlands Wolverhampton Ltd.
	Cambridge Research Park Ltd.
	Easter Properties (Fareham) Ltd. and Norwich Union Life and Pensions Ltd.
	East Properties Ltd. and Norwich Union Life and Pensions Ltd.
	Summerfield Developments (SW) Ltd.
	Yorkcourt Properties Ltd.
	 Landlords
	Canada Life Ltd.
	Control Centre Limited Partnership Canada Life Ltd.
	Leafrange Ltd.

Fire Services: Finance

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his most recent  (a) assessment of the progress on and  (b) estimate of the cost of the FiReControl project is.

Shahid Malik: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Copeland (Mr. Reed) on 2 November 2009,  Official Report, column 761W.
	The estimated full cost of implementing FiReControl is £420 million.

Fire Services: Finance

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the estimated gross cost of the FireControl project is over each of the next 15 years.

Shahid Malik: The estimated remaining FiReControl implementation project cost is circa £230 million. Beyond implementation Communities and Local Government has also committed to support any fire and rescue authority for whom operating costs are forecast to increase under the new networked control arrangements. The current estimate for this is £8.2 million each year.

Fire Services: Finance

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for what reasons other than specification changes expenditure on the FiReControl project has exceeded the initial budget.

Shahid Malik: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Copeland (Mr. Reed) on 2 November 2009,  Official Report, column 764W.

Fires: Death

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average age was of those killed in domestic fires in each fire and rescue authority area in each year since 2000.

Shahid Malik: The information requested has been placed in the Library.

Fires: Death

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people have been killed in domestic fires in properties held under each type of housing tenure in each fire and rescue authority area in each year since 2000.

Shahid Malik: Type of housing tenure is not currently collected in fire incident records. The practicalities of doing so are being considered within the current review of the information collected by the Incident Recording System.

Fires: Death

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people of each  (a) sex and  (b) ethnicity have been killed in domestic fires in each fire and rescue authority area in each year since 2000.

Shahid Malik: The information requested has been placed in the Library.
	Information on the number of fatalities by ethnicity has been collected only since the introduction of the new Incident Recording System. This was live across all of England and much of the UK from 1 April 2009. Data for 2009-10 will be available in summer 2010.

Flats: Construction

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many and what proportion of new completed dwellings in England have been flats in each year since 2000.

Ian Austin: Figures for the number of new-build dwellings completed in England each year since 2000 are given in live table 244 on the Communities and Local Government website at the following link:
	www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/xls/1387095.xls
	Figures on the proportion of new-build dwellings completed each year that were flats are given in live table 254 on the Communities and Local Government website at the following link:
	www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/xls/table254.xls

Floods: Cumbria

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of his Department's expenditure on flood recovery in Cumbria in the next six months; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The Prime Minister announced on 20 November that Communities and Local Government would make £1 million available for local authorities in Cumbria to use as they see fit to assist communities in recovering from the floods.

Floods: Finance

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of local authority expenditure on repairing flood damage in each of the last five years.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Gardens: Planning Permission

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the timetable is for the publication of his Department's review into garden and infill development.

Ian Austin: We will make a further announcement and publish the findings of the review together with the evidence shortly.

Green Belt

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local planning authorities have land with green belt designation.

Ian Austin: At 31 March 2009, a total of 197 local authorities had designated Green Belt land. The detailed list is in Local Planning Authority Green Belt Statistics: England 2008-09 Annex 1, which can be found on the Communities and Local Government website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/statistics/lagreenbelt2008

Historic Buildings: Planning Permission

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations his Department has received from  (a) the Royal Town Planning Institute and  (b) heritage or conservation groups on the revision of PPS15.

Ian Austin: The Department received nearly 500 responses to the consultation exercise on draft Planning Policy Statement 15 (Planning for the Historic Environment). One of these was from the Royal Town Planning Institute, which submitted a joint response with the Institute of Historic Building Conservation. More than 50 were from heritage or conservation groups. All responses are now being considered, and a summary and analysis will be published before the end of January 2010.

Homelessness: Young People

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people aged between 16 and 25 years have been registered as homeless in each year since 1997.

Ian Austin: Information about English local housing authorities' actions under the homelessness legislation (part 7 of the Housing Act 1996) is collected at local authority level, and published by the Department in the quarterly Statistical Release on Statutory Homelessness, available both in the Library and via the CLG website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/statistics/homelessnessq32009
	Data collected include the number of households accepted by local housing authorities as eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need, and therefore owed a main homelessness duty to secure that suitable accommodation is available ('homeless acceptances'). If a settled home is not immediately available, the authority must secure temporary accommodation (TA) until a settled home becomes available.
	Figures on homeless acceptances by age group of the applicant, for each financial year since 1998-99 can be found in table 10(b) of the statistical release mentioned above. The table shows number of applicants who are aged between 16 and 24 years old. The equivalent 1997-98 figures can be found in earlier additions of the release, accessible from the following link:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingresearch/housingstatistics/housingstatisticsby/homelessnessstatistics/publicationshomelessness

Homes and Communities Agency: Assets

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 25 November 2009,  Official Report, columns 175-76W, on the Homes and Communities Agency, when and at what cost each of the negative valued assets held by the Homes and Communities Agency was acquired;
	(2)  pursuant to the answer of 25 November 2009,  Official Report, columns 175-76W, on the Homes and Communities Agency, what negative valued assets are held by the Homes and Communities Agency;
	(3)  which of the negatively valued property interests owned by the Homes and Communities Agency are related to  (a) lease or leaseback interests,  (b) rental guarantees and  (c) assets where disengagement is dependent upon expenditure which exceeds the amount expected to be realised through future asset sales.

John Healey: Negative value assets are held in Bristol (1), Gloucester (1), Winchester (1), Milton Keynes (4), Peterborough (1), and Trafford Park, Manchester (1).
	Of these, three were included as part of the 82 redundant hospital sites purchased by the Urban Regeneration Agency, one of the HCA's predecessor bodies, during the 2006 financial year. The total liability associated with the three assets was £1.8 million.
	The remaining six properties were originally taken on by the Commission for the New Towns, another of the HCA's predecessor bodies. Four of these were taken on over 10 years ago, and it is not possible to find the cost of acquiring these assets other than at disproportionate cost. Of the remaining two sites, one was taken on in 2004 for £19,000, and one in 2005. In the 2005 case, the rental guarantee of £49,000 only applied from 2009.
	Of the nine property interests with negative assets, eight are in relation to rental liabilities existing on leasehold properties i.e. lease or leaseback interests, and one is a rental guarantee. The HCA does not hold any asset where disengagement is dependent upon investment, the cost of which exceeds the value to be realised through future asset sales.

Housing

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment has been made of the effect on housing waiting lists of the recession.

Ian Austin: As at 1 April 2009 there were 1.76 million households on housing waiting lists in England. The number was 1.77 million in April 2008.

Housing

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of new completed dwellings in England were flats in each year since 1997.

Ian Austin: Figures on the proportion of new-build dwellings completed each year since 1997 that were flats are given in live table 254 on the Communities and Local Government website at the following link:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/xls/table254.xls

Housing: Autism

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he plans to take under the Adult Autism Strategy to meet the housing needs of people with autism.

Ian Austin: CLG is working with the Department of Health to consider the housing needs of people with autism.
	People with autism may have their housing needs met by the Supporting People programme which provides revenue funds for local authorities to commission housing related support services for vulnerable people in their area, to enable them to develop independent living skills. However, the programme is a locally delivered and managed programme and it is for each local authority to allocate the available resource based on local needs and priorities.
	Public service agreement target 16 sets out the Government's aim that the most vulnerable adults are offered the chance to get back on a path to a more successful life by increasing the proportion of socially excluded adults in settled accommodation and in employment, education or training. CLG lead on the settled accommodation aspect of the PSA and the PSA 16 client group will include people with autism who are assessed as having a moderate to severe learning disability, or receiving secondary mental health services.

Housing: Autism

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which section of his Department is responsible for implementation of the Autism Strategy in relation to housing.

Ian Austin: The Housing Management and Support Directorate is responsible for the housing aspect of the Adult Autism Strategy.

Housing: Elderly

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will develop a national strategy for retirement housing.

Ian Austin: The Government published their strategy for housing in an ageing society 'Lifetime Homes, Lifetime Neighbourhoods' in February 2008, which sets out our strategy for all types of housing, including specialised housing for older people, such as retirement housing.
	One of the commitments in the 2008 strategy was to commission an innovation panel to look at the future of specialised housing for older people. This panel published its report 'HAPPI-Housing our Ageing Population: Panel for Innovation' last week, and we will be considering how the recommendations in the report can support the ongoing implementation of 'Lifetime Homes, Lifetime Neighbourhoods'.

Housing: Energy

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many and what proportion of  (a) owner occupiers,  (b) social tenants and  (c) private tenants spent (i) between zero and three per cent., (ii) from four to six per cent., (iii) from seven to nine per cent. and (iv) 10 per cent. or more of their total household expenditure on electricity, gas and other fuels in each of the last three years.

Ian Austin: The following table provides estimates of the number and proportion of owner occupiers, social renters and private renters spending the requested proportions of their disposable income on electricity, gas and other fuels in 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08. These estimates are based on data from the Office for National Statistics Expenditure and Food Survey.
	
		
			  Household expenditure on electricity, gas and other fuels, England, 2005-06 to 2007-08 
			  All households 
			   Owner occupiers  Social renters  Private renters 
			  Proportion of disposable income spent on fuels  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			  Thousand  
			 0-3% 9,288 8,453 7,903 1,976 1,569 1,676 1,493 1,480 1,524 
			 4-6% 3,527 4,188 4,297 869 902 1,136 440 467 718 
			 7-9% 1,014 1,232 1,266 448 534 441 175 234 216 
			 10% or more 740 991 1,041 541 530 616 251 246 277 
			 All 14,569 14,869 14,507 3,834 3,535 3,869 2,359 2,427 2,735 
			   
			  Percentage  
			 0-3% 64 57 54 52 44 43 63 61 56 
			 4-6% 24 28 30 23 26 29 19 19 26 
			 7-9% 7 8 9 12 15 11 7 10 8 
			 10% or more 5 7 7 14 15 16 11 10 10 
			 All 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 
			  Source: Expenditure and Food Survey.

Housing: Floods

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the number of households displaced by flooding that have not been able to return to their homes following each incident of flooding in the last three years.

Rosie Winterton: We do not keep information centrally on all flooding events as most are dealt with at the local level. We did monitor displaced households following the summer 2007 floods. Around 50 per cent. of households displaced by those floods had returned to their homes after six months. Around 80 per cent. had returned within 12 months and around 99 per cent. within 24 months.

Housing: Floods

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assistance his Department provides to homeowners whose homes are flooded but who do not have flood insurance.

Rosie Winterton: The Department provides assistance in respect of flooding in exceptional circumstances. Following the summer 2007 floods we made available flood recovery grant of £18.4 million to support the work of the hardest hit local authorities in helping those people in their communities in greatest need, whether insured or not. In addition, in July 2008, £30.6 million was allocated under the Restoration Fund to support their continued efforts to rebuild their communities.
	Local authorities had flexibility to decide how best to use these funds based on their own local circumstances.
	On 20 November, we announced that a Community Recovery Fund of £1 million would be made available to local authorities affected by the Cumbria flooding. Again this is for local authorities to support those people in their communities in greatest need, whether insured or not, and local authorities will have flexibility in how they can use the fund.
	The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) administers social fund crisis loans and community care grants, which provide help for the most vulnerable people with essential needs in an emergency. Crisis loans are intended for people on benefits or low income, and community care grants can only be used to help people on income-related benefits with little or no access to capital or other resources to meet the need.
	Social fund crisis loans can be paid to people in work in circumstances such as these, where they are victims of a disaster and in need of immediate help.

Housing: Lighting

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what consideration he has given to the requirement for the output of domestic light bulbs to be measured in lumens; and whether the listing of an equivalent luminance in watts in addition to lumens would be permitted.

Dan Norris: I have been asked to reply.
	From September 2010, EU Regulation 244/2009 under the Eco-design for Energy-using Products Directive will require manufacturers to label packaging with the lumen output of a lamp, in addition to the nominal lamp power (in Watts).
	The lumen output will be required to be written in a font twice the size of the nominal power.

Housing: Prices

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the house price affordability ratio for households on  (a) lower quintile and  (b) median earnings was in each local authority area for the most recent quarter available.

Ian Austin: Communities and Local Government does not hold household earnings data down to local authority level. Therefore we are unable to derive house price affordability ratios based on household earnings.

Housing: Prices

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average house price was in each local authority area in each year since 1997.

Ian Austin: Data showing average (mean and median) house price in each local authority in each year since 2007 are available on our website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/xls/table-585.xls
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/xls/table-586.xls

Housing: Prices

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the ratio of lower quintile house prices to lower quintile earnings was in each year since 1997.

Ian Austin: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 23 March 2009,  Official Report, columns 71-72W, to the Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps).

Housing: Prices

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 8 December 2009,  Official Report, column 305W, on housing: prices, what the average sale price of a home in a rural area was in each region in each year since 1997 in 2009-10 prices.

Ian Austin: The average sale price of a home in a rural area in each region at 2008 constant prices in each year since 1997 is presented as follows:
	
		
			   East  East Midlands  London  North East  North West  South East  South West  West Midlands  Yorkshire and the Humber 
			 1997 107,437 89,621 n/a 77,875 99,463 142,458 111,339 107,251 85,342 
			 1998 114,441 93,022 n/a 76,020 101,030 154,679 117,681 111,782 84,352 
			 1999 124,937 99,644 n/a 81,445 106,974 170,908 129,314 120,810 88,035 
			 2000 139,890 106,538 n/a 81,848 111,902 196,075 146,245 129,034 91,259 
			 2001 155,994 116,183 n/a 83,993 121,275 211,826 160,865 142,541 96,842 
			 2002 184,406 137,116 n/a 94,321 137,090 239,296 189,328 166,628 113,323 
			 2003 205,980 162,931 n/a 111,706 159,710 261,644 216,438 189,009 135,749 
			 2004 221,536 180,591 n/a 135,430 186,542 277,668 236,833 210,901 162,349 
			 2005 227,703 187,011 n/a 145,344 192,407 279,585 238,220 214,706 169,678 
			 2006 233,404 188,657 n/a 151,110 199,364 290,583 243,213 219,904 176,849 
			 2007 239,819 191,829 n/a 150,707 205,262 301,810 254,397 220,604 178,803 
			 2008 227,682 179,643 n/a 146,057 196,094 291,108 239,038 210,432 170,405 
			  Note: Prices have been adjusted for inflation using the Office for National Statistics Retail Price Index.  Source: Land Registry. Local authorities that are classed as rural under the Department rural codes have been included and local authorities classed as urban by DEFRA have been filtered out.

Housing: Prices

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 8 December 2009,  Official Report, column 305W, on housing: prices, what the average sale price of a home in a rural area was in each region in  (a) each year since 1997 and  (b) each of the last 20 quarters.

Ian Austin: The average sale price of a home in a rural area in each region in  (a) each year since 1997 and  (b) each of the last 20 quarters is given as follows.
	
		
			  (a) Average sale price of a rural home by region for each year since 1997 
			  £ 
			   East  East Midlands  London  North East  North West  South East  South West  West Midlands  Yorkshire and the Humber 
			 1997 78,777 65,714 n/a 57,101 72,931 104,456 81,638 78,641 62,576 
			 1998 86,790 70,546 n/a 57,652 76,619 117,306 89,247 84,773 63,971 
			 1999 96,204 76,728 n/a 62,714 82,372 131,602 99,574 93,026 67,789 
			 2000 110,909 84,466 n/a 64,891 88,720 155,454 115,948 102,302 72,353 
			 2001 125,856 93,736 n/a 67,765 97,844 170,901 129,785 115,002 78,132 
			 2002 151,268 112,476 n/a 77,371 112,454 196,294 155,306 136,684 92,959 
			 2003 173,856 137,520 n/a 94,285 134,802 220,838 182,683 159,531 114,577 
			 2004 192,555 156,966 n/a 117,713 162,139 241,344 205,851 183,311 141,110 
			 2005 203,533 167,161 n/a 129,917 171,984 249,909 212,934 191,916 151,668 
			 2006 215,258 173,989 n/a 139,362 183,864 267,991 224,304 202,808 163,099 
			 2007 230,664 184,506 n/a 144,954 197,426 290,289 244,685 212,182 171,977 
			 2008 227,682 179,643 n/a 146,057 196,094 291,108 239,038 210,432 170,405 
			  Source: Land Registry. Local authorities that are classed as rural under the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs rural codes have been included and local authorities classed as urban by DEFRA have been filtered out. 
		
	
	
		
			  (b) Average sale price of a rural home by region for each of the last 20 quarters 
			  £ 
			   East  East Midlands  London  North East  North West  South East  South West  West Midlands  Yorkshire and the Humber 
			 2004 Q3 201,403 165,275 n/a 124,852 172,499 254,777 217,987 194,413 150,247 
			 2004 Q4 200,287 164,999 n/a 127,589 168,853 247,273 213,216 190,441 146,737 
			   
			 2005 Q1 198,655 163,653 n/a 121,321 165,270 243,341 209,892 187,410 144,221 
			 2005 Q2 198,979 164,224 n/a 125,629 170,227 244,044 208,012 189,632 147,101 
			 2005 Q3 208,001 170,096 n/a 132,190 176,047 257,993 218,430 195,884 155,148 
			 2005 Q4 205,831 168,947 n/a 136,560 173,282 250,602 213,238 192,808 156,883 
			   
			 2006 Q1 202,820 163,427 n/a 129,269 171,726 250,301 210,681 190,580 152,807 
			 2006 Q2 209,807 173,390 n/a 138,928 182,122 260,904 218,772 199,413 161,460 
			 2006 Q3 223,501 178,634 n/a 143,697 191,254 280,295 231,620 210,529 167,446 
			 2006 Q4 220,650 177,396 n/a 142,582 186,646 273,804 230,904 206,983 167,528 
			   
			 2007 Q1 221,875 176,712 n/a 137,480 188,534 273,962 232,936 201,877 162,346 
			 2007 Q2 225,685 183,677 n/a 141,859 193,885 282,244 238,355 208,782 170,420 
			 2007 Q3 238,879 189,427 n/a 149,326 204,441 304,244 255,927 219,738 178,778 
			 2007 Q4 234,980 187,330 n/a 150,279 201,278 297,867 249,325 217,137 175,379 
			   
			 2008 Q1 232,201 181,992 n/a 144,810 198,520 291,948 240,071 210,476 168,071 
			 2008 Q2 229,650 179,847 n/a 147,854 193,347 291,508 239,604 211,064 173,560 
			 2008 Q3 234,433 184,482 n/a 152,222 204,143 305,653 247,514 216,608 173,501 
			 2008 Q4 211,467 170,959 n/a 137,585 187,229 272,499 227,352 202,153 165,139 
			   
			 2009 Q1 205,144 162,775 n/a 130,340 176,118 251,756 213,573 189,049 150,704 
			 2009 Q2 205,707 166,121 n/a 135,332 178,246 259,753 218,146 191,556 156,380 
			  Source: Land Registry. Local authorities that are classed as rural under the DEFRA rural codes have been included and local authorities classed as urban by DEFRA have been filtered out. Data for 2009 Q2 are provisional.

Housing: Research

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  when the report of research undertaken by Heriot Watt University into housing supply and future housing need was presented to his Department; and when he expects the report to be published;
	(2)  how much his Department has paid to Heriot- Watt University to undertake its research into housing supply and future housing need.

Ian Austin: The Department received a first draft report of the housing need research commissioned from Heriot-Watt University in October 2009. The report will be finalised after academic peer review. A publication timetable has not yet been fixed.
	The cost of this research project is expected to be £163,256. To date, the Department has paid Heriot-Watt University £146,458.

Housing: Sprinkler Systems

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment has been made of the merits of installing sprinklers in new build  (a) homes and  (b) flats.

Ian Austin: The use of sprinklers and other fire suppression technologies in dwellings was considered in the review that led to the 2006 revision of Approved Document B. This document provides guidance on compliance with Part B (Fire safety) of the Building Regulations. The extensive review that preceded the development of this new guidance considered a four year research project looking at the issue from both an effectiveness and cost/benefit perspective.
	Sprinklers have been shown to be an effective measure in reducing fire deaths. However, the review, which included public consultation, concluded that it would not be cost-effective to provide sprinklers in all new homes but that it would be reasonable to provide them in blocks of flats over 30 metres in height where the risks were shown to be greater. A provision to this effect was, therefore, included in the revised Approved Document.

Housing: Standards

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent estimate he has made of the cost of refurbishing an average home to meet the lifetime homes standard.

Ian Austin: In The Future of the Code for Sustainable Homes-Making a Rating Mandatory, page 51 para. 3.3 sets out the range of costs for building to the Lifetime Homes Standard as being between £545 and £1,615. Revised costs are included in the impact assessment supporting the forthcoming consultation on the Code for Sustainable Homes which will be published shortly.

Local Government

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to his Department's press release of 7 December 2009, what other sources of data will be used to produce the report on the nation's civic health; which Department has lead responsibility for that report; what the budget is for that programme; and whether he plans to commission new research for that report.

Barbara Follett: The full list of data sources for the civic health report is still under consideration by the Department for Communities and Local Government (which has lead responsibility for its production). The budget for the programme is dependent on the exact nature of the report and is consequently undetermined at this stage. Nonetheless, the report will not require the collection of new data and so should prove relatively inexpensive to compile.

Local Government Finance

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what new burdens placed on local authorities since the adoption of the New Burdens principle have not resulted in associated compensation for councils.

Barbara Follett: The Government are committed to ensuring that all new burdens falling on local authorities are fully and properly funded so that there is no upward pressure on council tax bills. Where appropriate, funding is provided through the formula grant system or through specific grants.

Local Government Finance: Emergency Services

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the assumed share of the council tax base for the purposes of the local government finance settlement was for  (a) police services and  (b) fire and rescue services in each year since 1997-98.

Barbara Follett: The following table shows the share of council tax base used in calculating an authority's share of formula grant for each of the four tiers of authorities from 1997-98 to date.
	
		
			   Share of council tax base 
			   Upper-tier services  Police services  Fire and rescue services  Lower-tier services 
			 1997-98 0.758669681 0.080168570 0.032113754 0.129047995 
			 1998-99 0.766520068 0.076204156 0.031550096 0.125725680 
			 1999-2000 0.768727795 0.075652314 0.031170922 0.124448969 
			 2000-01 0.772332753 0.074372718 0.030934777 0.122359752 
			 2001-02 0.769879048 0.075528699 0.031166754 0.123425499 
			 2002-03 0.766842457 0.074921464 0.031854515 0.126381564 
			 2003-04 0.70233379 0.08491934 0.03773994 0.17500693 
			 2004-05 0.7040995 0.0876150 0.0367455 0.1715400 
			 2005-06 0.7127738 0.0863271 0.0358011 0.1650980 
			 2006-07 0.72103328 0.08672247 0.03378238 0.15846187 
			 2007-08 0.72012056 0.08707602 0.03432392 0.15847951 
			 2008-09 0.701408590 0.094044500 0.036637434 0.167909476 
			 2009-10 0.711867721 0.091344847 0.034972733 0.161814699 
			 2010-11 0.722079958 0.088692078 0.033356743 0.155871221 
		
	
	During the period 1997-98 to 2002-03, the shares of council tax base were set on the basis of national shares of total standard spending assessments for the services that each provides, using the control totals set out in annexe E of the Local Government Finance Report (England) for that year.
	In addition, during the period 1997-98 to 1999-2000, the figures for inner London boroughs and the receiver for the Metropolitan police district were adjusted to allow for expenditure on probation and magistrates courts.
	From 2003-04 onwards, the shares of council tax base have been set so that the percentage increase in grant for each damping group of authorities is broadly proportional to the underlying percentage increase in formula spending share/relative needs formula for that group. In 2003-04, the resulting shares for shire county councils and shire district councils in two-tier areas were adjusted to reflect in part the combined impact of raising the assumed national council tax from about £769.16 for 2002-03 to about £1,037.46 for 2003-04 on the distribution of council tax income for these two groups of authorities are taken together.

Local Government Services: Elderly

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer of 14 October 2009,  Official Report, column 972W, on local government services: elderly, how much funding from each programme budget will be drawn from the reprioritised central budgets; and what estimate he has made of the monetary value of the  (a) efficiency savings and  (b) funds released by reprioritisation by local authorities.

Barbara Follett: The commitment to offer free personal care at home to those with highest needs is expected to cost up to £670 million in a full year. The Government, through the Department of Health, will provide the bulk of this funding (£420 million in a full year). The Government believe that it is right that councils play their part alongside central Government to help deliver the free personal care commitment and to contribute £250 million in a full year to the cost, through efficiencies and reprioritisation. It is for councils themselves to make decisions on how to deliver those further savings.

Local Government: Freedom of Information

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many requests were received by local authorities under the Freedom of Information Act in each of the last five years; and how many requests to local authorities under the Freedom of Information Act were responded to within 20 days in each such year.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is not held centrally.

Local Government: Standards

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what mailings and communications the Audit Commission has sent to prospective parliamentary candidates about comprehensive area assessment in the last 12 months; and for what purposes.

Rosie Winterton: This is an operational matter for the Audit Commission, and I will ask the chief executive of the Audit Commission to write to the hon. Member direct.
	 Letter from Steve Bundred, dated 14 December 2009:
	The Audit Commission sent an email to prospective parliamentary candidates of all parties on 18 November 2009. The email advised them of information about their local authority areas to be published on the new Oneplace website on 9 December 2009 and gave them the url of sample web pages.
	The message noted the interest that their prospective constituents might take in impartial assessments of services and quality of life in local areas. The Commission's Managing Director, Communication and Public Reporting, sent a further email to prospective candidates on 9 December 2009 informing them that the Oneplace website was up and running and giving them its web address.
	A copy of this letter will be placed in Hansard.

Mortgages

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many holders of buy-to-let mortgages in each region have defaulted on their mortgage repayments in each of the last 10 quarters.

Ian Austin: The Council of Mortgage Lenders collects and publishes data on the numbers of buy-to-let mortgages that are in arrears. However these data are only available for the United Kingdom as a whole.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many households in  (a) Ashford constituency and  (b) Kent have taken up the Homeowners Mortgage Protection Scheme.

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many households have received financial support under the  (a) Mortgage Rescue Scheme and  (b) Mortgage Homeowner Support Scheme in each local authority to date.

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people in Preseli Pembrokeshire constituency have received assistance through the Mortgage Protection Scheme.

John Healey: We have acted rapidly in conjunction with lenders and money advice agencies to put in place a range of help and support for households struggling with their mortgage at every stage, and launched a campaign to ensure households have clear information about the help available. Most borrowers experiencing difficulties are able to agree a solution with their lender. In addition, the Government schemes provide a valuable backstop for those people who need further support. Over the last year over 330,000 homeowners have received help and advice with their mortgage.
	Financial Services Authority figures show that in quarter 2 of this year 135,000 households were benefiting from an arrangement agreed with their lender, an increase of 74 per cent. on the previous year.
	The proportion of the mortgage market now committed to offering the Government-backed scheme or similarly extended forbearance without the need for Government guarantee is now more than 90 per cent. UK wide management information collected from these lenders and money advice agencies shows:
	Over 33,000 loans were benefiting from extended forbearance where lenders were accepting less than contractual monthly payments or where loans had been modified to make monthly payments more affordable for the borrower;
	6,000 of these loans were deferring interest as part of an arrangement equivalent to the Homeowners Mortgage Support scheme, and only 15 have so far needed the formal backstop of HMS and have been registered for the Government-backed guarantee following the five-month qualification period.
	Mortgage Rescue Scheme summary monitoring statistics are published on a quarterly basis on the Department's website. Figures can be accessed using the following link:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/statistics/mortgagerescuestatistics
	Quarterly figures reported by local authorities from January to September 2009 are provided in a table which has been placed in the Library.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much has been spent by his Department on  (a) the set up and ongoing costs of the Mortgage Help website and  (b) publicity for the initiative since its launch.

John Healey: The Mortgage Help website and accompanying publicity campaign are both ongoing projects, costs for which are not yet finalised.
	The Department will publish detailed annual costs for these activities, and other communications expenditure, as is established practice at the time of its next Annual Report.

Multiple Occupation

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many indicators and datasets councils must submit to his Department as part of the Register of Licensed Houses in Multiple Occupation regime; with what frequency; and for what reasons those data are not included in the National Indicator set.

Ian Austin: The Register of Licensed Houses in Multiple Occupation collects 31 data items in one dataset. Local authorities are asked to provide data once a quarter. These data are collected to monitor the 2004 Housing Act and were not intended to be part of the National Indicator set.

Non-Domestic Rates: Fire Services

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much has been paid in empty property business rates in respect of each regional fire control room liable for such rates.

Shahid Malik: The North West Regional Control Centre (RCC) has paid £47,808.73 in business rates and the South East RCC has paid £3,939.54.
	No other business rates have been paid.

Ordnance Survey

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he plans to revise Ordnance Survey's Business Strategy published on 23 April 2009 with reference to the announcement of 17 November 2009 on access to Ordnance Survey data.

Ian Austin: The purpose of the forthcoming consultation is to hear feedback on the most appropriate future business strategy for Ordnance Survey in order to deliver access to certain geographic information for free re-use.

Recycling

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many local authorities are making facilities available for the recycling of Christmas trees in 2009.

Dan Norris: I have been asked to reply.
	The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs does not hold the information requested. The Government believe local authorities are better placed to make decisions on the best waste management strategy for their local area, so we do not direct or interfere in the decisions they make. This includes the facilities local authorities make available for recycling Christmas trees. It does however, encourage local authorities to consult extensively with residents, to ensure their opinions and preferences are taken into consideration.

Regional Planning and Development

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment has been made of the effect of the removal of the needs test in planning guidance on levels of out-of-town development.

Ian Austin: Annexe A to the impact assessment of the draft Proposed Changes to Planning Policy Statement 6: Planning for Town Centres, which we published for consultation in July 2008, sets out our assessment of the effects of removal of the need test on levels of out-of-town development.

Regional Planning and Development: Finance

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much public funding the regional assemblies and their successor bodies will receive in 2010-11.

Ian Austin: We are still awaiting business plans from regional assemblies and successor bodies which will set out their funding requirements for 2010-11. However, we have said that overall resources need to be reduced in 2010-11 compared to 2009-10.

Rented Housing

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many right to manage companies exercised their right to take over the management of properties in each year since the implementation of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002.

Ian Austin: Communities and Local Government does not hold information on the number of RTM companies that have registered as a company and have gone on to acquire the right to manage, or information in respect of yearly breakdowns since implementation of the right to manage in October 2003.

Repossession Orders: Rural Areas

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes in rural areas were repossessed in each year since 1997.

Ian Austin: The Department does not collect information on mortgage possessions and arrears although information for the United Kingdom as a whole is published separately by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) and the Financial Services Authority (FSA). These are not split by whether the mortgage was for a home in a rural area or not.

Sheltered Housing

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department is taking to ensure that sheltered housing residents are consulted on any changes proposed by service providers; what sanctions are available to his Department in respect of service providers who do not consult residents prior to taking decisions on changes to service provision; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Austin: Changes to services provided under the Supporting People programme, including in sheltered housing, are a matter for the individual local authority concerned. However we have made clear that any changes should only be implemented after meaningful consultation with residents.
	CLG does not impose sanctions on providers of services as it is local authorities which have a contract with providers, not CLG. However, CLG have developed a framework, called the quality assessment framework (QAF) whereby authorities are able to measure the standard of the services which are being delivered to service users. To meet the necessary standard the service must take account of service user views.
	In response to concerns raised about changes to sheltered housing services, Lord McKenzie chairs a ministerial working group which will produce guidance to providers and commissioners on consultation and engagement with residents, and a complaints guide to make residents more aware of how best to raise concerns they may have.

Sheltered Housing

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will instruct local authorities to provide residential wardens for sheltered housing schemes in circumstances in which existing residents signed tenancy agreements on the understanding that such wardens would be provided.

Ian Austin: The provision of residential wardens in sheltered housing schemes is a matter for local authorities. Local authorities determine what services to provide, including the provision of resident wardens in sheltered accommodation, based on local needs and priorities.

Social Rented Housing: Asbestos

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will require the owners of social housing to inform residents of such housing of the presence of asbestos in their housing and its communal areas.

Ian Austin: holding answer 9 December 2009
	Guidance published by the Health and Safety Executive states that in the case of the common parts of domestic premises such as lift and stair spaces in flats, there is a duty placed on those with maintenance and repair responsibilities to provide information on the location and condition of the material to anyone who is liable to work on it or disturb it.

Social Rented Housing: Insurance

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what progress has been made on reviewing his Department's guidance Insurance for All: A good practice guide for providers of social housing.

Ian Austin: The document 'Insurance for All: a good practice guide for providers of social housing' was published by the Housing Corporation in April 2001. Revision of the document was one of four recommendations on insurance in Sir Michael Pitt's review of the summer of 2007 floods which the Government accepted.
	Six-monthly reports on the progress of the recommendations accepted by the Government are available on the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs website at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/flooding/risk/floodreview2007.htm
	The latest report is currently being finalised and will be published shortly.

Social Rented Housing: Property Transfer

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he has made a recent estimate of the number of housing transfers within housing associations in South East London.

Ian Austin: The Department has not made any estimate of the number of housing transfers within housing associations. However, the following table lists those local authorities in south-east London who since 1997 have transferred all or part of their housing stock to registered social landlords under a large scale voluntary transfer programme.
	
		
			  Local authority  Date of transfer  Registered social landlord 
			 LB Bexley 9 February 1998 Orbit Bexley 
			 LB Bexley 9 February 1998 London and Quadrant 
			 LB Greenwich (Charlton Triangle) 29 March 1999 Charlton Triangle Homes Limited 
			 LB Lewisham (Phoenix) 3 December 2007 Phoenix Community Housing Ltd. 
			 LB Lewisham (Grove Park) 7 July 2008 London and Quadrant Housing Trust 
			 LB Lewisham (Lee) 12 October 2009 Broomleigh

Social Rented Housing: Waiting Lists

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will rank local authorities in England by the number of applicants on their waiting lists for social housing  (a) on 2 December 2009,  (b) in April 2009, (c) in 2008 and  (d) in 2007; how many such applicants there were on each such waiting list in each case; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Austin: Information is available on numbers of households rather than applicants. The number of households on the local authority housing waiting list is collected on the Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix (HSSA) as at 1 April each year.
	Where local authorities and registered social landlords operate a common register, households registered with the RSL will be included in the data. However, registered social landlords are independent bodies and can keep their own waiting lists.
	A table has been placed in the House Library ranking the number of households on the local authority waiting lists for each local authority in England as at 1 April each year for 2007, 2008 and 2009.

Supporting People Programme

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department is taking to promote best practice by local authorities in the provision of services under the Supporting People programme.

Ian Austin: CLG has developed a Supporting People Quality Assessment framework (QAF) and a Supporting People Outcomes framework. The QAF enables local authorities to measure the standard of the services which are being delivered to service users and the Outcomes Framework shows the benefits attained by individuals of using the services. CLG will continue to promote the use of both the QAF and Outcomes Framework in the procurement and delivery of Supporting People services.
	In addition CLG have convened a Supporting People Transition Board to support the sector, including local authorities, to deliver the Supporting People programme in an un-ringfenced environment.

Tenancy Deposit Schemes

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment has been made of the financial stability of tenancy deposit schemes.

Ian Austin: The three tenancy deposit protection schemes are operated by private companies and are self-financing. Communities and Local Government monitors all three schemes and holds regular contract governance meetings with the scheme providers.

Tenant Services Authority: Manpower

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many staff will be directly employed by the Tenant Services Authority; and what the estimated number is of staff who will conduct inspections for the authority without being employed by it.

Ian Austin: The number of staff directly employed by the Tenant Services Authority (TSA) is set out in their annual report and accounts which was laid in Parliament on 5 November 2009.

Travelling People: Republic of Ireland

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent assessment he has made of the rate of migration of Travellers to the United Kingdom from the Republic of Ireland; and whether any assessment has been made of the effect of the new criminal trespass laws in the Republic in affecting migration patterns.

Shahid Malik: A common travel area is in place between the United Kingdom and Ireland, and therefore no record is kept of the movement of particular ethnic groups between the two countries.
	Communities and Local Government publishes data twice yearly on the number of Gypsy and Traveller caravans in England. Recent data do not indicate any unexpected increases in the number of Gypsy and Traveller caravans.

Valuation: Tribunals

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how many disputes relating to  (a) service charges and  (b) TV aerial digital switchover were dealt with by the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal service in (A) each of the last three years and (B) 2009 to date;
	(2)  how many long leases were varied by the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal service under the terms of Part IV of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 in each of the last 10 years;
	(3)  how many disputes of each category were dealt with by the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal service in each of the last three years.

Ian Austin: The information is as follows:
	
		
			  Cases dealt with by the Residential Property Tribunal Service 2006 - 09 
			   2006  2007  2008  2009( 1) 
			 Fair rents 2,173 1,993 1,847 1,856 
			 Market rents 916 859 936 1,007 
			 Leasehold enfranchisement and lease extension 3,000 3,352 3,032 2,177 
			 Service charges etc. 1,848 1,715 2,141 2,884 
			 Right to buy appeals 142 75 45 29 
			 Housing Act 2004 cases 49 206 248 241 
			 Others 33 27 32 24 
			 Total 8,161 8,227 8,281 8,218 
			 (1) Projected.  Notes:  1. 'Fair rents' cases are those involving regulated tenancies under the Rent Act 1977.  2. 'Market rent' cases are those involving assured and assured shorthold tenancies established under the Housing Act 1988.  3. 'Right to buy appeals' are determinations made by residential property tribunals as to the suitability of housing for occupation by the elderly.  4. 'Housing Act 2004' cases relate to those powers given to residential property tribunals in respect of the Housing, Health  Safety Rating System, management orders under the Act and the licensing of houses in multiple occupation. 
		
	
	Projected totals for 2009 are based on actual figures for the first 10 months of the year, extrapolated to 12 month totals.
	The information sought on how many long leases were varied by the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal service under the terms of Part IV of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 in each of the last 10 years, which is only held from 30 September 2003 when jurisdiction was transferred from the courts to Leasehold Valuation Tribunals, is not immediately available.
	I will write to the hon. Member as soon as this information becomes available.
	The number of disputes dealt with by Leasehold Valuation Tribunals relating to service charges in each of the last three years, and 2009 to date, are identified in the above table.
	I am aware of one dispute dealt with by the Leasehold Valuation Tribunals in 2009 relating to digital switchover. However, no specific records are kept identifying the disputed components of each individual service charge case dealt with by Leasehold Valuation Tribunals, including disputes relating to TV aerial digital switchover.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Biofuels: Power Stations

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what biomass power stations are  (a) in operation and  (b) under construction.

Joan Ruddock: With regard to the number of biomass power stations in operation, I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland (Dr. Kumar) on 3 November 2009,  Official Report, column 889W.
	We do not keep figures centrally for the number of biomass power stations under construction.

Boilers

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the number of inefficient domestic boilers in  (a) public and  (b) private housing; and how long he estimates it will take to replace them under the proposed scrappage scheme.

Joan Ruddock: We estimate that there are about 4.5 million domestic boilers which are G-rated or worse. While we do not hold sufficient information to say what percentage are in social housing or private housing stock, an analysis of the English Housing Condition Survey suggests social housing is less likely to contain G-rated boilers, following years of investment under programmes such as Decent Homes. The Greener Boiler Incentive will provide £400 for up to 125,000 homes who seek to replace working G-rated Boilers with more efficient heating technologies. In addition Building Regulations require broken boilers to be replaced with more efficient boilers. Currently 1.5 million boilers a year are replaced.

Caparo Group

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials in his Department have met Angad Paul in each of the last three years.

Joan Ruddock: Since the creation of the Department of Energy and Climate Change in October 2008, Ministers and officials have in the course of business met and consulted with a wide variety of public and private sector individuals and organisations.

Climate Change: International Cooperation

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will make it his policy to seek an agreement to eradicate the use of hydrofluorocarbons in refrigeration and air conditioning systems in his discussions at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.

Joan Ruddock: Together with the EU, the UK is committed to working for an international hydrofluorocarbons emissions reduction arrangement as one of the outcomes of Copenhagen.

Climate Change: International Cooperation

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what meetings he plans to hold with non-governmental organisations at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.

Joan Ruddock: At the Copenhagen climate change summit, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I will hold regular meetings with a wide range of non-governmental organisations.

Climate Change: Publicity

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps the Act on CO2 Campaign has taken to offset the carbon dioxide emissions generated through its activities.

Joan Ruddock: All agencies working on the Act on CO2 campaign are briefed to meet the campaign objectives in a carbon efficient way.
	DECC will offset direct CO2 emissions from Act on CO2 campaigns since 2007, specifically transportation and electricity use during advertising shoots and public events.

Climate Change: Publicity

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many people have called the Act on CO2 advice line to seek advice on saving money since its inception.

Joan Ruddock: Since its inception in April 2008 until the end of October 2009, 866,866 people have called the Act on CO2 helpline.

Departmental Buildings

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the energy efficiency rating is for each of his Department's buildings in London.

Joan Ruddock: The Energy Performance Operational Rating for 3 Whitehall Place is 150 on scale F.

Departmental Buildings

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the  (a) energy rating and  (b) energy band is of each building occupied by his Department and its agencies.

Joan Ruddock: The Energy Performance Operational Rating for 3 Whitehall Place is 150 on scale F. Atholl House is located in Scotland and therefore has no requirement to have an energy rating.

Departmental Conferences

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change which conferences held overseas have been attended by civil servants based in his Department since its inception; and what the cost to the public purse was of such attendance at each conference.

Joan Ruddock: This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Domestic Visits

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on how many occasions he visited  (a) Scotland,  (b) Wales and  (c) Northern Ireland in an official capacity in the last 12 months.

Joan Ruddock: In the course of his official duties, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has visited Scotland twice and Wales four times in the past 12 months. He has not made an official visit to Northern Ireland during the last 12 months.

Departmental Freedom of Information

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 his Department received in 2008; and how many of these received a substantive response within 20 days.

Joan Ruddock: Statistics published by the Ministry of Justice on Freedom of Information in central Government for 2008 show that of a total of 45 non-routine requests received by the Department (based on aggregated quarterly data) 64 per cent. (29) received a substantive response within 20 days.
	71 per cent. (32) of requests were dealt with 'in time', that is within 20 days by meeting the deadline or other permitted extension deadline.
	The statistics can be found on the Ministry of Justice website at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/freedomofinformationquarterly.htm
	and copies are available in the Libraries of the House.

Departmental Internet

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what redesigns of websites operated by  (a) his Department and  (b) its predecessors have been carried out since 27 June 2007; and what the (i) cost to the public purse and (ii) date of completion of each such redesign was.

Joan Ruddock: The Department of Energy and Climate Change was created on 3 October 2008, and its official corporate website:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/
	was launched on 23 February 2009. There has been no requirement for a redesign since the launch.
	There have been redesigns on the following websites that are also administered by the Department of Energy and Climate Change:
	http://www.actonco2.direct.gov.uk/actonco2/home.html
	(ActOnCO2)
	(The website development costs are shared between Department of Transport and DECC. The cost to DECC was £25,820. Completed: October 2009)
	http://chp.decc.gov.uk/cms/
	(CHP Focus-Combined Heat and Power)
	(Cost: £7,500. Completed: Sept 2009)
	http://www.chpqa.com/
	(Quality assurance for Combined Heat and Power)
	(Cost: £7,500. Completed: December 2009)
	http://mrws.decc.gov.uk/
	(Managing Radioactive Waste Safely)
	(Cost: £6,500. Completed: September 2009)
	www.planningrenewables.org.uk
	(Planning Renewables Website)
	(Cost: £46,000. Completed: March 2009)
	www.renewables-advisory-board.org.uk
	(The Renewables Advisory Board (RAB)
	(Cost: £6,000. Completed: August 2007)
	www.lowcarbonbuildings.org.uk/home
	(Low Carbon Building Programme)
	(Cost: £15,000. Completed: July 2009)
	http://www.lowcarbonbuildingsphase2.org.uk
	(Low Carbon Buildings Programme Phase 2)
	(Cost: £20,000. Completed: July 2009)
	www.bigenergyshift.org.uk
	(Big Energy Shift)
	(Cost: £68,000. Completed: August 2009)
	www.decc.gov.uk/offsetting
	The UK Government's Quality Assurance Scheme for Carbon Offsetting)
	(Cost: £6,000. Completed: September 2009)
	http://www.leos.le.ac.uk/AATSR/
	(Advanced Along-Track Scanning Radiometer-University of Leicester science and validation website)
	(Cost: £6,300. Completed: September 2009)

Departmental Official Hospitality

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the purposes were of the reception held by his Department on 10 November 2009; how many guests were invited; how many attended; and what the cost was.

Joan Ruddock: The reception was held to support the communication of the UK's objectives in the run up to the UN negotiations on climate change in Copenhagen in December.
	158 guests were invited. We do not have a record of the exact number who attended. The cost was £3,122.72.

Departmental Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what payments the Energy Saving Trust has made to Positif Politics Ltd. in the last 12 months; and what  (a) representations his Department has received from and  (b) discussions it has had with Positif Politics Ltd. on the Energy Saving Trust in that period.

Joan Ruddock: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 21 July 2009,  Official Report, columns 1627-8 W.
	The Energy Saving Trust is a private company limited by guarantee, and details of payments made are therefore a matter for the Trust's Board.
	During the last 12 months, DECC has not received any representations from nor engaged in any discussions with Positif Politics Ltd., regarding the Energy Saving Trust.

Departmental Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what payments the Energy Saving Trust has made to Stratagem in the last 12 months; and what  (a) representations his Department has received from and (b) discussions it has had with Stratagem on the Energy Saving Trust in that period.

Joan Ruddock: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to him on 21 July 2009,  Official Report, columns 1627-8W.
	The Energy Saving Trust is a private company limited by guarantee, and details of payments made are therefore a matter for the Trust's Board.
	During the last 12 months, DECC has not received any representations from nor engaged in any discussions with Stratagem, regarding the Energy Saving Trust.

Departmental Publications

Nigel Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will place in the Library a copy of the Memorandum of Understanding between his Department and the British Geological Survey on the operation of the National Geoscience Data Centre in Gilmerton, Edinburgh.

Joan Ruddock: A copy of the Memorandum of Understanding has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Departmental Security

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many security passes his Department has issued to contractors providing consultancy services in the last 12 months.

Joan Ruddock: DECC's access control policies are implemented in line with the HMG Security Policy Framework, Mandatory Requirements 56, 57 and 58. The Department does not have the information requested as there is no requirement for the DECC pass system to specifically identify contractors who are providing consultancy services to the Department.

Departmental Taxis

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many miles  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials in his Department and its predecessors travelled by taxi in the course of their official duties in each year since 1997; and at what cost to the public purse in each such year.

Joan Ruddock: The Department of Energy and Climate Change was established in 3 October 2008.
	Mileage information is not collected when taxi claims are submitted by officials using taxi hire companies. For ministerial taxi travel using the Government Car and Despatch Service where travel mileage is available the distance recorded for the period 3 October 2008 to 31 March 2009 is 915 miles.
	The total cost for ministerial and official taxi travel in the period 3 October 2008 to 31 March 2009 was £63,000.

Departmental Travel

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on what date he last travelled by  (a) bus and  (b) taxi in the course of his official duties.

Joan Ruddock: In the course of his official duties, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State last travelled by taxi on 11 November 2009. All travel by Ministers is undertaken in accordance with the 'Ministerial Code'.

Departmental Written Questions

John Mason: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many questions tabled for answer on a named day his Department received in each of the last 12 months; and to how many such questions his Department provided a substantive answer on the day named.

Joan Ruddock: For the period 1 December 2008 to 30 November 2009 357 named day questions were tabled to DECC and of these 104 received substantive answers on the day.

Energy Supply

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps have been taken in relation to the possibility to exercise the reserve powers provided under the Energy Act 2008 for the Government rather than Ofgem to set the grid access regime.

David Kidney: The Government launched a consultation on options for grid access reform on 25 August 2009, and this closed on 17 November. The consultation document was placed in the House Libraries, and is also available from the DECC website at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/consultations/improving_grid/improving_grid.aspx
	We are currently considering responses received to the consultation and will publish a Government Response alongside a further, technical consultation on our preferred option and the changes to industry codes and licences associated with implementation in early 2010. We intend to implement the changes to codes and licences to ensure the regime can take effect from June 2010.

Energy Supply: Cybercrime

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will consider the merits of bringing forward legislative proposals for a mandatory duty for energy utility companies to report breaches in their cyber-security to Ministers.

David Kidney: Existing good practice is that a cyber security breach resulting in a loss or compromise of customers' details would be reported to the Office of the Information Commissioner. DECC works closely with other areas of Government (notably the Office of Cyber Security (OCS) and the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI)) to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities in the national infrastructure that could be exploited by cyber threats, and to share best practice across the critical national infrastructure.
	If a cyber security breach impacts an energy utility company's operational capability leading to security of supply concerns, I have existing procedures (including my Department's emergency response plans) and existing powers (including, where appropriate, emergency powers under the Energy Act 1976) to intervene.

Energy: Conservation

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the budget is of the Community Energy Saving Programme; and which organisations will coordinate the associated community energy assessors.

Joan Ruddock: We expect the energy companies to deliver around £350 million worth of energy efficiency measures in discharging their obligations under the Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP).
	The obligated energy companies are responsible for the energy advice delivered under CESP. Such advice must be delivered in accordance with the Electricity and Gas (Community Energy Saving Programme) Order 2009 and Ofgem's supporting CESP guidance.

Energy: Housing

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Home Heat helpline; and whether his Department collects data on the uptake of home energy support benefits in each constituency.

Joan Ruddock: The Home Heat Helpline is run through the Energy Retail Association and is funded by the energy suppliers. Spend by suppliers on the Home Heat Helpline is reported on and monitored by Ofgem under the voluntary agreement between suppliers and the Government for spending on programmes of social assistance. Ofgem's latest report is available online at:
	http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Pages/MoreInformation.aspx?docid=263refer=Sustainability/SocAction/Suppliers/CSR
	The DECC-funded Warm Front scheme, which operates in England only, provides a range of energy saving measures to applicants in receipt of certain passports benefits. Eaga plc, the scheme manager, gathers performance data by region, local authority area and constituency on behalf of the Department.
	Fuel poverty is a devolved matter, and devolved Governments collect their own data.
	The Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) is a GB-wide obligation that requires the big six energy suppliers to report measures installed to the regulator, Ofgem. Measures installed are reported at GB level and no information on where this occurs is currently kept. To address this deficiency, the Government are negotiating a voluntary agreement with the energy suppliers for them to report the installation of measures into the Homes Energy Efficiency Database (HEED) managed by the Energy Saving Trust, and it is hoped to conclude these negotiations shortly.

Energy: Meters

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many households in  (a) Jarrow constituency,  (b) South Tyneside,  (c) the North East and  (d) the UK had (i) electricity and (ii) gas pre-payment meters in each of the last 10 years.

David Kidney: Ofgem monitors and publishes information about gas and electricity prepayment customers. However, prepayment data are not collected on a parliamentary constituency or borough council basis. Ofgem published figures for the 10-year period in its Domestic Suppliers Social Obligation 2008 report. The number of customers in Great Britain using prepayment meters was:
	
		
			  Customers in Great Britain using prepayment meters 
			  Million 
			   1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 Gas 1.6 1.8 1.8 2.0 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.3 2.4 
			 Electricity 3.7 3.5 3.8 3.7 3.7 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.6

Energy: Meters

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many domestic energy customers in each  (a) constituency and  (b) local authority area use pre-payment meters.

David Kidney: Ofgem monitors and publishes information about gas and electricity prepayment customers. However, data are not collected on a parliamentary constituency or local authority basis. In June 2009, the last period for which data have been published, the number of customers in Great Britain using prepayment meters was 2,464,377 for gas and 3,698,628 for electricity. In Scotland, the number of customers using prepayment meters was 242,688 for gas and 476,794 for electricity.

Fuel Poverty

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent estimate he has made of the number of households living in fuel poverty in  (a) Chesterfield constituency,  (b) Derbyshire and  (c) England.

David Kidney: The most recent available sub-regional split of fuel poverty relates to 2006, and shows that there were around 4,900 fuel poor households in the Chesterfield constituency and around 54,500 fuel poor households in the county of Derbyshire.
	More recent figures are available for England. These show that in 2007, there were around 2.8 million fuel poor households in England.

Gas and Electricity Markets Authority: Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what payments Ofgem has made to Finsbury in the last 12 months; for what purposes; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the contract governing those payments.

David Kidney: Ofgem made the following payments to Finsbury for communications related activities:
	
		
			  Financial year  Total paid  (£) 
			 2002-03 29,006.16 
			 2003-04 62,067.47 
			 2004-05 11,308.36 
			 2005-06 0 
			 2006-07 0 
			 2007-08 0 
			 2008-09 0 
			 2009-10 0 
			 Total 102,381.99 
		
	
	The Department does not hold any information on the commercial contract between Ofgem and Finsbury. I have therefore asked Ofgem's chief executive to write to the hon. Gentleman direct.

Hotels

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets has spent on hotel accommodation for its officials in each of the last five years.

David Kidney: Ofgem does not record specific information on expenditure on hotel accommodation but it does publish annual information on overall travel and subsistence expenditure. Over the last five years, its expenditure on travel and subsistence has been as follows:
	
		
			  Period  Expenditure (£000) 
			 2004-05 504 
			 2005-06 689 
			 2006-07 771 
			 2007-08 603 
			 2008-09 603 
		
	
	I have liaised with Ofgem over this reply. As it explains, Ofgem does not record specific information about hotel costs. This reply draws on information published in Ofgem's annual resource account statements which are available through its website.

Members: Correspondence

Patrick McLoughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he expects to reply to the letter from the right hon. Member for West Derbyshire of 24 August 2009 concerning Hydropower in Derbyshire, ref: PM/OP/Hydropower.

Joan Ruddock: My noble colleague Lord Hunt of King's Heath OBE responded on 8 December 2009. Such a delay is obviously unacceptable and my officials have investigated the reasons for the error and are adjusting correspondence handling procedures to prevent this happening again.

Members: Correspondence

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when his Department expects to publish its response to the report on energy security by the right hon. Member for Croydon North.

David Kidney: My right hon. Friend the Member for Croydon, North (Malcolm Wicks) has raised a number of important issues which we are studying carefully and the Government will publish a response in due course.

Official Engagements

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what meetings he has had with the Government's Chief Sustainability Officer in the last 12 months.

Joan Ruddock: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has regular meetings with ministerial colleagues, officials and others.

Scientists

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on how many occasions he has met  (a) the Government chief scientific adviser and  (b) his Department's chief scientific adviser in the course of his official duties in the last 12 months.

Joan Ruddock: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has regular meetings with ministerial colleagues, officials and others.

Solar Power

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change for what reasons his Department ceased to accept applications for funding for photovoltaic projects under phase two of the Low Carbon Buildings Programme on 30 November 2009; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ruddock: In Budget 2009, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor announced a further £45 million for LCBP to allow for grant funding continuity up to the introduction of Green Energy Cash-backs (feed-in tariffs) on 1 April 2010 and Renewable Heat Incentives (RHIs) on 1 April 2011. Technology 'pots' were created to allow for equitable support for all microgeneration technologies from the LCBP programme.
	Following consultation with the industry, an initial 'pot' of £14 million was set for Solar PV under Phase-2 of LCBP. This was subsequently increased to £18 million due to unprecedented demand.
	We currently have approximately £5.7 million worth of applications for PV being evaluated under Phase-2 and this will exhaust the total allocation for PV As a result, we closed LCBP-2 to new PV applications from 1 December 2009 in line with our discussions with industry.
	Of the £45 million announced in Budget 2009, we anticipate that we will commit over £19 million to Solar PV.
	Phase-1 which provides support for householders remains open to new applications for Solar PV until 31 March 2010.

Solar Power

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he has taken to ensure the continuous availability of funding for solar photovoltaic projects; and if he will make a statement.

David Kidney: The Low Carbon Building Programme (LCBP) will provide continuity of grant provision up until the introduction of Green Energy Cash-backs (FITs) in April 2010 for the Phase-1 (householder stream). The demand for grants for solar photovoltaic technology under the Phase-2 scheme (communities and other not-for-profit organisations) has been unprecedented and we have found it necessary to close that programme to new applications, however we are currently processing a backlog of £5.7 million worth of applications for PV projects.
	Grant funding for microgeneration technologies including Solar PV will be available through the recently announced PAYS pilot scheme starting in December 2009 and further grant funding will be available for communities participating in the Low Carbon Communities Challenge. In both these programmes, the choice of technology will be defined by the applicants but will include Solar PV.

Solar Power

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what grant assistance is available for non-domestic users of solar photovoltaic energy.

Joan Ruddock: The Low Carbon Buildings Programme will close to applications for electrical microgeneration, including Solar PV on 31 March 2010 when feed-in tariffs (FITs) will be introduced. Due to unprecedented demand, the Phase-2 scheme (non-domestic) has been closed to new Solar PV applications from 1 December 2009 as we have approximately £5.7 million worth of applications for PV waiting to be processed.
	The introduction of FITs in April 2010 will replace the LCBP grant support for electrical generation equipment and is anticipated to further stimulate the market through a tariff mechanism.
	Grant funding will be available from the Low Carbon Communities Challenge, the choice of technology will be defined by the applicants but will include Solar PV.

Warm Front Scheme

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many claimants received assistance under the Warm Front programme in each of the last three years; how many such claimants were not reimbursed for the full cost of work carried out under the Warm Front scheme in each such year; and if he will make a statement.

David Kidney: The number of households assisted under Warm Front in the last three complete years, alongside the number of households who received works whose value was in excess of the grant limit, are as follows:
	
		
			   Assisted households  Households asked to contribute 
			 2006-07 253,079 35,805 
			 2007-08 268,900 59,839 
			 2008-09 233,594 51,405 
			 2009-10 (to 30 November 2009) 157,111 8,466

Warm Front Scheme

Andy Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what monitoring process is in place to ensure the quality of work carried out under the Warm Front scheme; and if he will make a statement.

David Kidney: Due to the vulnerable nature of Warm Front applicants, the scheme pays particular attention to maintaining the highest possible standards of safety, quality and customer care. As manager of the scheme, Eaga continually monitors contractor performance using customer satisfaction surveys, with the best performing contractors receiving
	Additionally, upon completion of installation, 100 per cent. of heating and 5 per cent. on insulation installations (chosen randomly) are inspected by experienced independent engineers to ensure the necessary standards are met.
	Alongside these measures, the Department has also appointed independent quality assurors, White Young Green, to carry out six-monthly and ad hoc audits of installer performance.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Broadband

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the proportion of households that have a broadband internet connection in each local authority area.

Stephen Timms: No such estimates have been made.

Broadband

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of households have a broadband internet connection in  (a) rural areas of England and  (b) Herefordshire.

Stephen Timms: The Department does not have information on the proportion of households connected to broadband in  (a) rural areas of England and  (b) Herefordshire. However, figures from the Ofcom Communications Market Report: English regions of August 2009, indicate that 65 per cent. of households in rural England, and 58 per cent. of households in rural West Midlands, have fixed broadband connections.

Broadband

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to ensure that consumers can access third party provider services via broadband services provided by regulated private companies.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 7 December 2009
	I understand that the hon. Gentleman is concerned about a specific situation in which he says access to 118 directory inquiries services is restricted by BT through their Home Hub broadband product.
	BT's Home Hub is a wireless internet router which facilitates a range of services including broadband and a Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone capability. BT provides access to their own directory enquiries service (118 500) through the VoIP service and restricts access to other directory inquiries services. This restriction is limited to the Home Hub VoIP service as customers can access other 118 numbers through their normal BT phone, or by prefixing the number with five when using their VoIP phone to access their public switched telephone network line. Users are also free to access 118 services through the internet.
	A recent Significant Market Power (SMP) review by Ofcom found that call origination for Voice over Broadband (VoB) calls is not the same market as wholesale call origination on a narrowband network and as such, BT are within their rights to restrict access to other directory inquiries services.
	Ofcom have recognised that as VoIP/VoB services develop and increase in significance they may need to re-examine their judgment and possibly include VoIP/VoB calls in BT's end to end connectivity obligation. In the mean time, the Department and Ofcom are keen to encourage commercial negotiation between BT and the affected service providers to find a resolution to this ongoing dispute.

Broadband: South East

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of broadband coverage in  (a) Lewes constituency,  (b) East Sussex and  (c) the South East.

Stephen Timms: The Department does not hold the information in order to make a recent assessment of the adequacy of broadband coverage in  (a) Lewes constituency,  (b) East Sussex and the south-east. However, in its Communications Market Report: English Regions, published in August 2009, Ofcom estimates that in the South East, 99.98 per cent. of households were connected to a DSL-enabled BT exchange and 84 per cent. of households were connected to an unbundled local exchange.

Business: Eastbourne

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many  (a) small,  (b) medium-sized and  (c) large businesses in Eastbourne have received funding under the Regional Loans Transition Fund scheme since the scheme was established.

Rosie Winterton: Regional Transition Loan Funds were established by the Regional Development Agencies as a time limited measure while national instruments such as the Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme were put in place. In the South East England Development Agency region the Transition Fund provides loans of up to £150,000 for small and medium-sized enterprises that are facing liquidity issues arising from the adverse financial credit squeeze. The Transition Fund is financed by SEEDA and managed by Finance South East. One business in Eastbourne has applied for funding under this scheme since it was established. This application was turned down as it did not meet the eligibility criteria. For comparison, in the SEEDA region over the same period, 141 businesses enquired about these loans, 27 businesses were offered funding and 20 have so far received funding, of which two are based in East Sussex. In those circumstances where companies did not meet the criteria a range of advice through the Business Link network has been made available, such as business health checks. Over 95,000 businesses have benefited from this service to date across England, including 17,851 in the South East.

Business: Government Assistance

Mark Prisk: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many businesses in each  (a) parliamentary constituency,  (b) local authority area and  (c) Government Office region had received funding under the (i) Enterprise Finance Guarantee, (ii) Working Capital, (iii) Trade Credit Insurance Guarantee, (iv) Capital for Enterprise Fund and (v) Automotive Assistance Programme scheme on the latest date for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The reporting structure for each scheme differs in terms of the availability of information at constituency, local authority, and regional levels.
	The Enterprise Finance Guarantee is a temporary loan guarantee scheme aimed at facilitating additional bank lending to viable small and medium sized enterprises. Decision-making on individual loans is fully delegated to participating lenders and is done on commercial grounds.
	Figures on the Enterprise Finance Guarantee are available at constituency and at local authority level, a copy of which shall be deposited in the Library of the House. For brevity, following are figures for the number and value of loans offered and drawn within each region as of 26 November.
	
		
			  Region  Number of new loans offered to customer  Total value of offered loans (£ million)  Number of new loans drawn by customer  Total value of drawn loans (£ million) 
			 East Midlands 486 52.83 416 44.24 
			 East of England 757 66.97 613 54.70 
			 London 803 90.21 631 70.46 
			 North East 236 22.40 190 16.76 
			 North West 717 69.35 613 57.19 
			 South East 988 98.20 785 77.35 
			 South West 757 68.48 641 56.36 
			 West Midlands 620 62.08 522 50.72 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 444 45.16 367 36.35 
			 Wales 347 26.62 267 19.05 
			 Scotland 464 61.43 395 54.33 
			 Northern Ireland 72 13.58 56 10.41 
			 Total UK 6,691 677.29 5,496 547.93 
		
	
	Under the 'Working Capital Scheme', £2 billion of guarantees has been provided to two banks to free up regulatory capital for new lending to UK companies. Companies themselves do not apply for guarantees under the Working Capital Scheme (WCS) and are not aware that their loans are guaranteed under the WCS. No records are kept by parliamentary constituency or region of companies who have loans underpinned by WCS guarantees.
	As a result of action by the Government and the regulatory authorities leading to improvements in capital markets since the introduction of the WCS, the Government have been able to allocate resource provision for the WCS to other measures to support businesses.
	As of 20 November, 72 suppliers have purchased 'Trade Credit Insurance' under the Government Top-up Scheme, in the following Government offices/constituencies. We do not analyse the information per local authority area:
	
		
			  Government Office  Constituency  Number of suppliers 
			 East Midlands Amber Valley 1 
			  Northampton South 2 
			
			 East of England Broxbourne 1 
			  Harlow 1 
			  Huntingdon 1 
			  Luton South 1 
			  Saffron Walden 1 
			  Welwyn Hatfield 1 
			
			 London Chipping Barnet 1 
			  Cities of London and Westminster 1 
			  Holborn and St Pancras 2 
			
			 North East Middlesbrough 1 
			  Redcar 1 
			  Tyne Bridge 1 
			
			 North West Altrincham and Sale West 1 
			  Birkenhead 1 
			  Bolton South East 1 
			  Burnley 1 
			  Eccles 1 
			  Heywood and Middleton 1 
			  Manchester, Blackley 1 
			
			 South East East Hampshire 1 
			  Faversham and Mid Kent 1 
			  Folkestone and Hythe 1 
			  Mole Valley 1 
			  North East Milton Keynes 1 
			  Reading West 1 
			  Richmond Park 2 
			  Sutton and Cheam 1 
			  Woking 1 
			  Wokingham 1 
			
			 South West Bristol West 1 
			  Exeter 1 
			  North Devon 1 
			  Wansdyke 1 
			
			 West Midlands Birmingham, Ladywood 2 
			  Birmingham, Sparkbrook and Small Heath 2 
			  Cannock Chase 1 
			  North Warwickshire 1 
			  Nuneaton 1 
			  South Derbyshire 1 
			  Stourbridge 1 
			  Telford 1 
			  Walsall South 2 
			  West Bromwich West 2 
			  Wolverhampton Northeast 1 
			  Wolverhampton South West 1 
			  Wyre Forest 1 
			
			 Yorkshire and the Humber Bradford North 1 
			  Cleethorpes 1 
			  Elmet 1 
			  Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle 1 
			  Normanton 1 
			  Scunthorpe 1 
			  Sheffield, Attercliffe 1 
			  Shipley 1 
			  Vale of York 1 
			
			 Northern Ireland Belfast South 1 
			  East Londonderry 1 
			  Mid Ulster 1 
			
			 Scotland Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill 1 
			  Ochil and South Perthshire 1 
			  Stirling 1 
			
			 Wales Islwyn 1 
			  Neath 1 
			
			 Total - 72 
		
	
	As of 26 November, with respect to the £75 million Capital for Enterprise Fund equity scheme, the appointed fund managers have so far made offers totalling £68.2 million to 44 businesses. 11 businesses have accepted the terms of the funding offered with a total value of £17.9 million. The fund managers continue due diligence on these, and the further proposals that have been put forward. Eight businesses have received investment totalling £12.2 million, two based in the East Midlands, one in London, two in Scotland, two in the South East and one in Yorkshire and Humber. I am not providing a breakdown by parliamentary constituency or local authority as this could make it possible to identify the individual companies that have received support.
	With regard to the Automotive Assistance Programme, on 18 September 2009, BIS announced the offer of a £10 million loan to Tata Motors European Technical Centre to support £25 million of investment in the Coventry area to develop and manufacture electric vehicles in the UK.

Climate Change Projects Office

Gregory Barker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what the aims and objectives are of his Department's Climate Change Projects Office.

Patrick McFadden: The Climate Change Projects Office (CCPO) is the UK Government's primary contact for business involved in the international carbon market (particularly climate change projects under the Kyoto Protocol-Clean Development Mechanism and Joint Implementation projects that generate tradable carbon credits). The CCPO supports and promotes UK private sector involvement in the market. The CCPO is based in the Department for Business and is joint-funded by the Department for Energy and Climate Change. Details about the CCPO's work can be found in the UK CCPO annual report 2008/09, copies of which have been placed in the House Libraries.

Departmental Conferences

John Baron: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills which conferences held overseas have been attended by civil servants based in his Department since its inception; and what the cost to the public purse was of such attendance at each conference.

Patrick McFadden: The Department does not centrally record details of conferences held overseas attended by civil servants. To obtain this information would require searching through four departmental and IT systems and entail disproportionate costs.
	The Department will soon publish details of expenses of senior staff on the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills website, overseas conferences attended will be included.

Departmental Electronic Equipment

Greg Hands: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many plasma screen televisions his Department has purchased since its inception; and what the cost has been of purchasing and installing such screens.

Patrick McFadden: This Department's Estates section has not purchased any plasma screen televisions since its inception in June.
	Information is not held centrally for any purchases of plasma screens that may have been made by individual Directorates within the Department.

Departmental Public Expenditure

John Hayes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what the cost to the public purse was of the review of employee engagement commissioned by his Department and conducted by David MacLeod and Nita Clarke.

Patrick McFadden: The external costs (excluding VAT) associated with conducting the employee engagement review, and with publication of the report in July 2009, were £192,678.

Electric Cables: Standards

David Anderson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to protect the public from the risks posed by installation of electrical cables which do not meet approved standards.

Jonathan R Shaw: I have been asked to reply.
	Where examples of electrical cables which do not meet the recognised approved standards are reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) the matter is investigated by inspectors who enforce, among other supply legislation, the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994 (EESR). Inspectors have the power to prohibit further supply of electrical cables whose foreseeable use represents a risk of serious harm to persons. Where defective products are already in the supply chain action can be taken to require suppliers to warn and advise their customers.
	Examples of defective electric cables imported from Asia are currently under investigation. More generally, inspectors will shortly be carrying out an exercise to examine samples of cables in use on construction sites in the UK. Depending on the findings, besides prohibiting the supply and use of any found to be seriously defective, the HSE will propose a wider market surveillance project to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on the supply of cables into the industrial and domestic market.

Energy and Climate Change Unit

Gregory Barker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what the aims and objectives are of his Department's Energy and Climate Change Unit.

Patrick McFadden: The Low Carbon Business Opportunities Unit and the Energy and Climate Change Unit in BIS have now joined together to form the Low Carbon Business Team. The Low Carbon Business Team aims to capture the economic and industrial opportunities for the UK from the global shift towards a Low Carbon economy and ensure the views of UK business are properly taken into account in the development of policies across Whitehall. They will be working together, taking a strategic approach to ensure industry is in a position to capitalise on business opportunities arising from the transition to a low-carbon economy.

EU Law

Gregory Barker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what  (a) statutory instruments and  (b) other regulations to meet obligations arising from EU law his Department has brought forward in the 2005 Parliament.

Patrick McFadden: Central records of statutory instruments made under specific powers have only been maintained by the statutory instruments registrar since 2001. There are no central records maintained of other regulations. Since that time the Department and its predecessors have made 235 statutory instruments to meet obligations arising from EU Law, under powers contained in the European Communities Act 1972.

Freight

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 3 December 2009,  Official Report, column 982W, on freight, if he will break down by mode of transport the number of road freight companies which have  (a) become insolvent, ( b) ceased trading for other reasons and  (c) been started up in each of the last 10 years.

Ian Lucas: Further to the answer of 3 December 2009, in answer to part  (a), The Insolvency Service do not currently collect or maintain a record of figures at the level of detail below Land Transport. The figures provided in the answer of the 3 December are the most detailed available to answer part  (a).
	At the most detailed level of classification, the freight transport by road industry is identifiable. However, it is not possible to distinguish the mode of transport within this standard industrial classification.
	Responsibility for statistics relating to business start-ups and closures (births and deaths) has moved from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Tables 1 and 2 record statistics received from the ONS in response to  (b) and  (c) above. These represent those figures which are both readily available and most similar in coverage to the figures for insolvencies, but they should not be treated as being entirely consistent and, in particular, the ONS figures will include some businesses that are not registered companies.
	
		
			  Table 1: (b) Business deaths in the land transport industry., England and Wales 
			  6024  Freight transport by road  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			  Total 3,365 3,680 3,685 3,490 3,245 3,190 3,085 
			  Note: The population base includes all those businesses which are registered for VAT and/or PAYE, rather than registered companies.  Source: ONS 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: (c). Business births in the land transport industry, England and Wales 
			  6024  Freight transport by road  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			  Total 3,195 3,375 3,240 3,275 2,825 3,195 2,985 
			  Note: The population base includes all those businesses which are registered for VAT and/or PAYE, rather than registered companies.  Source: ONS

Higher Education: Leeds

John Battle: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many students from Leeds West constituency  (a) attended university courses and  (b) received student loans to attend university courses in each year since 1996-97.

David Lammy: The latest figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) on enrolments from Leeds, West parliamentary constituency are shown in the table. Reliable information on student loans received is not available at constituency level.
	
		
			  Enrolments( 1)  from Leeds, West parliamentary constituency UK higher education institutions( 2 ) academic years 1996/97 to 2007/ 08 
			  Academic year  Enrolments 
			 1996/97 1,315 
			 1997/98 1,275 
			 1998/99 1,470 
			 1999/2000 1,505 
			 2000/01 1,510 
			 2001/02 1,520 
			 2002/03 1,585 
			 2003/04 1,635 
			 2004/05 1,730 
			 2005/06 1,830 
			 2006/07 1,835 
			 2007/08 1,825 
			 (1) Covers enrolments to all levels and modes of study. (2 )Excludes the Open University due to inconsistencies in their data across the time series.  Note: Figures are based on a snapshot count as at 1 December to maintain consistency across the time series.  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).

Higher Education: Lewes

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people from Lewes constituency became full-time undergraduate students in each year from 2002-03 to 2007-08; and how many such people  (a) were from and  (b) had parents from each socio-economic group.

David Lammy: The latest available information from the Higher Education Statistics Agency is shown in the following table.
	Figures are provided for full-time undergraduate entrants aged under 21, and 21 and over, as data on socio-economic class are gathered on a different basis for these two distinct age groups. Socio-economic class is derived from information on occupation: for entrants aged under 21 this is based on the occupation of their parent, and for those aged 21 and over it is based on their own occupation.
	Figures for the 2008/09 academic year will be available from the Higher Education Statistics Agency in January 2010.
	
		
			  Full-time undergraduate entrants from Lewes constituency( 1)  by age and socio-economic classification( 2) : UK higher education institutions( 3) : academic years 2002/03 to 2007/08 
			   2002/03  2003/04  2004/05  2005/06  2006/07  2007/08 
			  Socio-economic classification  ≤21  21+  ≤21  21+  ≤21  21+  ≤21  21+  ≤21  21+  ≤21  21+ 
			 Higher managerial and professional occupations 75 5 95 10 90 10 100 10 85 5 80 0 
			 Lower managerial and professional occupations 85 25 120 10 105 25 105 15 105 15 100 20 
			 Intermediate occupations 35 10 35 10 45 15 45 5 45 5 35 15 
			 Small employers and own account workers 20 0 30 5 30 5 20 5 30 5 25 5 
			 Lower supervisory and technical occupations 15 0 15 0 15 0 20 0 20 0 15 0 
			 Semi-routine occupations 20 15 25 5 15 20 20 15 15 15 20 10 
			 Routine occupations 5 5 5 5 10 0 10 5 10 5 15 5 
			 Total known 255 60 325 50 310 75 325 50 310 50 285 55 
			 Missing(4) 110 65 50 75 60 55 75 65 75 65 70 90 
			 (1) The table does not include entrants where the constituency of the student cannot be established due to missing or invalid information. (2) This field collects the socio-economic classification of students participating in HE if 21 or over at the start of their course or parental classification if under 21. (3) Figures exclude the Open university due to inconsistencies in their coding of entrants across the time series. (4) Covers students whose socio-economic classification was missing, not classified or 'Never worked and long-term unemployed'.  Note: Figures are based on a HESA standard registration population and have been rounded up or down to the nearest five, therefore components may not sum to totals.  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency

Higher Education: Student Numbers

John Battle: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many students from  (a) the city of Leeds,  (b) West Yorkshire and  (c) England graduated in each year since 1997.

David Lammy: The latest information from the Higher Education Statistics Agency is shown in the table. This covers qualifiers from UK higher education institutions who were resident in Leeds, West Yorkshire and England at the time of applying to higher education. Figures for the 2008/09 academic year will be available in January 2010.
	
		
			  Qualifiers( 1)  from Leeds local authority, West Yorkshire( 2)  and England UK higher education institutions. Academic years 1997/98 to 2007/08 
			  Academic year  Leeds  West Yorkshire  England 
			 1997/98 3,865 10,625 305,995 
			 1998/99 4,325 11,725 315,715 
			 1999/2000 4,425 12,285 322,590 
			 2000/01 4,680 12,895 355,550 
			 2001/02 4,605 12,635 363,345 
			 2002/03 5,055 13,815 387,615 
			 2003/04 5,715 15,220 409,965 
			 2004/05 5,610 15,130 427,900 
			 2005/06 5,510 15,540 429,845 
			 2006/07 5,955 15,715 434,335 
			 2007/08 6,140 16,440 450,990 
			 (1) Covers qualifiers from all levels and modes of study. (2 )Covers the local authorities of Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield.  Note: Figures are based on a qualifications obtained population and have been rounded to the nearest five.  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)

Internet

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills when his Department first informed the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers of its plans to bring forward proposals for new powers in relation to internet domain registries in the Digital Economy Bill.

Stephen Timms: The Department contacted ICANN in July to inform them that the Government were preparing reserve powers in respect of internet domain name registries.

Internet: Copyright

Tom Watson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate his Department has made of the cost of peer-to-peer file sharing of copyrighted material to the UK film industry in each year since 1999; if he will publish his Department's analysis upon which such an estimate is based; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The Government have not carried out a study into the cost of unlawful peer-to-peer file-sharing to the UK film industry. However, the UK Film Council in 2006 estimated the total cost of copyright infringement to the UK film industry to be £388 million of which digital infringement is estimated to have cost the industry £202 million. The 2007 estimates were £404 million total cost, of which digital infringement £224 million. While digital infringement will include other forms of infringement than peer-to-peer, it is likely that it will account for a large proportion of the estimated figure. In the June 2009 consultation document IPSOS research, commissioned by the industry, was included that calculated losses in 2007 from unlawful peer-to-peer file-sharing to the film and television industries of £152 million.

Internet: Copyright

Tom Watson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate his Department has made of the cost of peer-to-peer file sharing of copyrighted material to the UK games industry in each year since 1999; if he will publish his Department's analysis upon which such an estimate is based; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The Government have not carried out a study into the cost of unlawful peer-to-peer file-sharing to the UK games industry. However, according to the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA) in their response to the consultation on this subject published last year, for the six-month period January to June 2008 industry, online monitoring of a selection of ELSPA members' games found over 350,000 infringing video game files for the UK. Globally, the monitoring of those games found over 11 million infringing video game files.

Internet: Copyright

Tom Watson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate his Department has made of the number of people who shared copyrighted material through peer-to-peer technology in the UK in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The Government have not carried out a study into the number of people who share copyrighted material unlawfully through peer-to-peer technology. Commonly quoted industry figures suggest around 6.5 million regular file-sharers, but it will be an early task for Ofcom under the Digital Economy Bill to set an authoritative baseline for the level of online infringement, and monitor the level of such infringement as the initial obligations begin to be applied.

Internet: Copyright

Tom Watson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate his Department has made of the cost of peer-to-peer file sharing of copyrighted material to the British music industry in each year since 1999; if he will publish his Department's analysis upon which such an estimate is based; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 10 December 2009
	The Government have not carried out an independent assessment of the cost of unlawful peer-to-peer file-sharing to the music industry. However, music industry research estimates that in 2008 they suffered losses as a consequence of such activity of £180 million. This figure, clearly identified as an industry estimate, was used in the consultation document issued in June 2009 on this topic.

Internet: Copyright

Tom Watson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many meetings  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials have held with representatives from (i) the Federation Against Copyright Theft, (ii) the British recorded music industry and (iii) the Open Rights Group in the last 12 months.

David Lammy: Ministers and officials from the Department have held numerous meetings in the last 12 months with the Federation Against Copyright Theft, the British Recorded Music Industry and the Open Rights Group.

Internet: EU Law

Tom Watson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills whether his Department has made an assessment of the likely effects of EU Directive 2000/31/EC on the provisions outlined in the Digital Economy Bill, with particular reference to articles  (a) 12,  (b) 13,  (c) 14, and  (d) 15 of the Directive; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The Government believe the Digital Economy Bill is fully compliant with Directive 2000/31/EC.

Internet: Security

Tom Watson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what estimate his Department has made of the number of  (a) residential customers and  (b) business customers who have unencrypted wireless internet connections in the UK;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the number of wireless routers in the UK that are protected by  (a) WEP,  (b) WEP2 and  (c) WPA1 encryption; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: We do not collect data on the number of wireless networks that are protected by encryption nor the relative use of the various security techniques available. Get Safe Online advises home users to protect their wireless networks from intrusion by applying encryption.

Invoices

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department has taken to prevent the practice of issuing unsolicited invoices to businesses for inclusion in internet and business city guides; and whether any prosecutions have been brought for offences related to this practice.

Kevin Brennan: Section 3 of the Unsolicited Goods and Services Act 1971 imposes requirements as to how agreements may be made for entries in business directories. A person will not be liable for any charge for inclusion in a directory of an entry relating to that person or his business unless that person has agreed to the charge. Local Trading Standards Services have a duty to enforce the legislation, although the Department does not hold information on the number of prosecutions brought.

National Geoscience Data Centre

Nigel Griffiths: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will publish the costings of each of the four options considered in the British Geological Survey's Tribal Group report on the closure of the National Geoscience Data Centre in Gilmerton, Edinburgh.

David Hamilton: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will publish the costings of each of the four options considered in the British Geological Survey's Tribal Group report on the closure of the Survey's engineering and core store in Loanhead, Midlothian.

David Lammy: The full report by the Tribal Group including the costings and net savings for the four options is available on the website of the British Geological Survey:
	http://www.bgs.ac.uk/about/InformationManagementReport.html

Post Office

Brooks Newmark: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills for what reasons a sub-postmaster's or sub-postmistress's contract may be terminated.

Patrick McFadden: I have asked Alan Cook, Managing Director of Post Office Ltd., to respond directly to the hon. Member and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Libraries.

Post Office: Disciplinary Proceedings

Brooks Newmark: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills whether sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses are permitted to be accompanied by  (a) solicitors and  (b) other people independent of the Post Office at disciplinary meetings.

Patrick McFadden: I have asked Alan Cook, Managing Director of Post Office Ltd., to respond directly to the hon. Member and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Libraries.

Post Office: Disciplinary Proceedings

Brooks Newmark: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses have been subject to disciplinary action in respect of incidents related to the use of the Post Office Horizon system; and what standards of proof are used by the Post Office when investigating such incidents.

Patrick McFadden: I have asked Alan Cook, Managing Director of Post Office Ltd., to respond directly to the hon. Member and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Libraries.

Post Office: Disciplinary Proceedings

Brooks Newmark: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills who conducts appeal proceedings in respect of disciplinary action taken against Post Office employees.

Patrick McFadden: I have asked Alan Cook, Managing Director of Post Office Ltd., to respond directly to the hon. Member and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Libraries.

Post Offices

Roger Williams: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many post offices in  (a) urban and  (b) rural areas in each region have closed in each year since 25 December 2004; and if he will make a statement.

Patrick McFadden: I have asked Alan Cook, Managing Director of Post Office Ltd., to respond directly to the hon. Member and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Libraries.

Post Offices

Roger Williams: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many post offices in  (a) urban and  (b) rural areas in each region Post Office Ltd. has identified for closure in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2012; and if he will make a statement.

Patrick McFadden: The Government have said that they will not support a further programme of post office closures so no post offices have been identified for future closure. However, neither the Government nor POL can prevent the closure of individual post offices where, for example, a sub-postmaster decides to retire or resign and a replacement cannot be found. The Government's access criteria will continue to apply across the UK.
	We are providing up to £1.7 billion to 2011 to support a network of around 11,500 branches; this includes a £150 million annual social network payment to support non-commercial sub-post offices, in urban as well as rural areas, from April 2008. We also recognise that there will be a continuing need for network support payments beyond 2011.

Post Offices

Roger Williams: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people in  (a) urban and  (b) rural areas in each region live (i) less than one miles, (ii) less than two miles, (iii) less than three miles and (iv) three miles or more from the nearest post office; and if he will make a statement.

Patrick McFadden: I have asked Alan Cook, Managing Director of Post Office Ltd., to respond directly to the hon. Member and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Libraries.

Post Offices: Information and Communications Technology

Brooks Newmark: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what changes to the Post Office Horizon system will be made in the development of a new system.

Patrick McFadden: I have asked Alan Cook, Managing Director of Post Office Ltd., to respond directly to the hon. Member and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Libraries.

Post Offices: Information and Communications Technology

Brooks Newmark: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what timetable he has set for the implementation of the new Post Office Horizon system; and what his most recent estimate is of the cost of implementing that system.

Patrick McFadden: I have asked Alan Cook, managing director of Post Office Ltd, to respond directly to the hon. Member and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Libraries.

Post Offices: Information and Communications Technology

Brooks Newmark: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what mechanisms are in place for independent audit and checking of the new Post Office Horizon system prior to its implementation.

Patrick McFadden: I have asked Alan Cook, managing director of Post Office Ltd, to respond directly to the hon. Member and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Libraries.

Post Offices: Information and Communications Technology

Brooks Newmark: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the likely savings to the Exchequer consequent on the implementation of the new Post Office Horizon system.

Patrick McFadden: In 2007, the Government agreed a business plan with the Post Office for the period to March 2011. This was linked to the funding of up to £1.7 billion which the Government are providing to the Post Office over that period. The business plan sets out a range of cost saving measures being undertaken by the Post Office, including upgrades to its Horizon IT system. These measures will in total provide an annual cost saving of over £200 million from 2011 and Post Office Ltd is on target to achieve this. POL's progress on delivering these cost savings is monitored by the Shareholder Executive.

Post Offices: Information and Communications Technology

Brooks Newmark: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills whether the Post Office Horizon system will be examined by independent auditors prior to its replacement.

Patrick McFadden: I have asked Alan Cook, Managing Director of Post Office Ltd., to respond directly to the hon. Member and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Libraries.

Postal Services Commission: Hotels

Anne Main: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how much the Postal Services Commission has spent on hotel accommodation for its officials in each of the last five years.

Patrick McFadden: This is an operational matter for which Postcomm has direct responsibility. I have therefore asked Postcomm's Chief Executive, Tim Brown, to reply direct to the hon. Member.
	A copy of the response will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Postal Services Commission: Internet

David Davies: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what redesigns of websites operated by the Postal Services Commission have been carried out since 27 June 2007; and what the  (a) cost to the public purse and  (b) date of completion of each such redesign was.

Patrick McFadden: This is an operational matter for which Postcomm has direct responsibility. I have therefore asked Postcomm's Chief Executive, Tim Brown, to reply direct to the hon. Member.
	A copy of the response will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Public Sector: Information

Mark Field: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the announcement on 17 November 2009 on the Making Public Data Public initiative, what steps are being considered by the Government to increase the availability of public sector information to business, individuals and community organisations.

Stephen Timms: The Government's overall policies and plans for increasing the availability and re-use of public data are set out in Putting the Frontline First: Smarter Government (Cm 7753), published on 7 December.

Public Sector: Information

Mark Field: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what the terms of reference are for his Department's Making Public Data Public initiative; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The terms of reference for the initiative led by Sir Tim Berners-Lee OM and Professor Nigel Shadbolt are as follows:
	In the last two years the Government's work on the power of information has shown how the information revolution has the potential to transform Government and public services.
	The Government have accepted all of the recommendations of the Power of Information Taskforce to open up access to Government information for free re-use.
	In particular, and linked to its wider programme of Public Service Reform, the Government are committed to implementing and to extending to the wider public sector the principle that public sector information should be available under straightforward licences and in standard formats for others to re-use: the principle that public sector information should be public.
	In the next six months, Sir Tim Berners-Lee will serve in an advisory capacity to the Minister for the Cabinet Office, and he will work with Professor Nigel Shadbolt to form a panel of technical and delivery experts to oversee the rapid implementation of key recommendations, including:
	(1) Overseeing the creation of a single online point of access for all public UK datasets-and work with departments to make this part of their routine operations-with a live Beta site running by the end of the year.
	(2) Bringing forward specific proposals to implement and extend to the wider public sector the public sector information principle, including:
	helping to select and implement common standards for the release of public data
	helping to select, develop and implement common terms for that data where necessary
	developing Crown Copyright and 'Crown Commons' licences and extending these to the wider public sector
	supporting the exploitation and publication of distributed and decentralised information assets
	looking at the potential for reform of the information regulatory framework, working with the Information Commissioner's Office and other experts to ensure that the regulatory regime supports the proactive publication of Government information
	(3) Driving the use of the internet to improve Government consultation processes as proposed by the Taskforce and learning from the innovations already used by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, the Cabinet Office and others.
	Other key areas in which Sir Tim Berners-Lee will advise the Government include:
	(4) Working with the Government to engage with the leading experts internationally working on public data and standards, and to promote international liaison and global standards setting-an investment in future international data sharing.
	(5) Helping to drive culture change in Whitehall toward an assumption of total publication for anonymous data using open standards.
	The panel will work closely with the recently-appointed Director for Digital Engagement and other officials in the Cabinet Office, the Office for Public Sector Information (part of The National Archives), and the Technology Strategy Board.

Public Sector: Information

Mark Field: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills which public sector information holders are being considered under his Department's Making Public Data Public initiative; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The Making Public Data Public initiative has initially focused on public sector information holders in central Government Departments and agencies. The Government consider that the same principles should be extended to all public services, and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government announced on 7 December that Professor Nigel Shadbolt will lead a Local Public Data Panel to work with local government to release local public data.

Public Sector: Information

Mark Field: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what methodology was used to calculate the estimate that the implementation of the Making Public Data Public initiative could contribute £1 billion to the economy.

Stephen Timms: The Office of Fair Trading market study Commercial Use of Public Information (published in 2006) estimated that improving the way in which the market for public sector information worked could mean it would grow to over £1 billion per annum.

Students: Loans

David Willetts: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people not domiciled in the UK have outstanding loans with the Student Loans Company; how many such loans are in arrears; and in respect of how many such loans no repayments were made in the last 12 months.

David Lammy: The most recent figures showing the number of borrowers not domiciled in the UK with outstanding loans and the number in arrears and not paying have been published by the Student Loans Company, and are available in the following documents on the website.
	SLC SFR 02/2009 Student Loans for Higher Education in England, Financial Year 2008-09 (Provisional) at:
	www.slc.co.uk/pdf/slcsfr022009.pdf
	Annexe-Income Contingent Repayments by Repayment Cohort and Tax Year 2000/01 to 2007/08 Inclusive (Provisional) at:
	www.slc.co.uk/pdf/slcsfr022009annex.pdf
	For borrowers who are domiciled in the EU, effective collection is underpinned by EC Regulations 44/2001 which allows the SLC to obtain judgments in UK courts, which can be enforced by courts in other EU countries. Borrowers' accounts must be set up with repayment schedules and put into notional arrears in order that the SLC can inform borrowers that unless they take steps to provide income details and commence repayment where appropriate, legal action will be taken against them. This is an essential step in the overseas collection process.

Transport

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many companies involved in  (a) passenger rail transport,  (b) interurban and suburban passenger land transport,  (c) urban, suburban and metropolitan area passenger transportation by underground, metro or similar systems and  (d) taxi operation have (i) become insolvent, (ii) ceased trading for other reasons and (iii) been started up in each of the last 10 years.

Ian Lucas: The Insolvency Service does not currently collect or maintain a record of figures at the level of detail requested for part (i). The lowest available industry breakdown is for Land Transport as a whole; these figures are available at:
	http://www.insolvency.gov.uk/otherinformation/statistics/insolv.htm
	and were also provided in the answer of 3 December 2009,  Official Report column 982W.
	Parts  (b) and  (c) can not be answered independently. Instead information has been provided on standard industrial classification 6021 which covers elements of both part  (b) and part  (c), and 6023 which also covers elements of part  (b).
	Responsibility for statistics relating to business start-ups and closures (births and deaths) has moved from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The data recorded as follows are the record statistics received from the ONS in response to  (b) and  (c) above. These represent those figures which are both readily available and most similar in coverage to the figures for insolvencies, but they should not be treated as being entirely consistent and, in particular, the ONS' figures will include some businesses that are not registered companies.
	 Part (ii) Deaths
	
		
			  (a) Passenger rail transport (England and Wales) 
			   2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 6010 Transport via railways 5 15 15 10 5 15 10 
		
	
	
		
			  (b) interurban and suburban passenger land transport and (c) urban, suburban and metropolitan area passenger transportation by underground, metro or similar systems(England and Wales) 
			   2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 6021 Other scheduled passenger land transport 130 170 145 165 115 140 125 
			 
			 6023 Other passenger land transport 215 300 330 285 235 265 245 
		
	
	
		
			  (d) taxi operation (England and Wales) 
			   2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 6022 Taxi operation 835 855 870 1025 900 965 970 
		
	
	 Part (iii) Births
	
		
			  (a) Passenger rail transport (England and Wales) 
			   2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 6010 Transport via railways 15 25 10 15 10 5 15 
		
	
	
		
			  (b) Interurban and suburban passenger land transport and (c) urban, suburban and metropolitan area passenger transportation by underground, metro or similar systems(England and Wales) 
			   2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 6021 Other scheduled passenger land transport 115 110 145 175 155 140 135 
			 
			 6023 Other passenger land transport 340 375 305 275 265 250 290 
		
	
	
		
			  (d) taxi operation (England and Wales) 
			   2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 6022 Taxi operation 975 1200 1835 1335 1275 1280 950 
			  Source:  ONS The population base includes all those businesses which are registered for VAT and/or PAYE, rather than registered companies. It should be noted that the above figures are inclusive of insolvencies; it is not possible to separate these out.